Beacon Pet Center
by Shadowsouls0
Summary: The beacon pet center, a place where pet owners can go to get toys, food, and other essentials for their beloved companions. Or, even get new one's! Jaune Arc, the lone employee of the Beacon Pet center has only three he won't part with. Their names, are Ruby, Yang, and Pyrrha. Little does he know, his three pets are a lot more than just dogs. Rated M because reasons.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one: Among the hidden

 **(a/n- okay, brief explanation on this one. I'd liken this to a normal style of AU (with quite a few animals involved might I add… that'll make more sense in a second.). In other words, no grimm… there still are faunus though. Also, I'll have to take some** _ **serious**_ **liberties with some of the characters here. You'll see what I mean in a second. I don't plan on updating this one** _ **as**_ **often as JALR agency either. Put it like this, JALR Agency is 75% plot/action and 25% fluff? Well, this is more like 50% fluff and 50% action/plot (note: ratios subject to change based on author mood and or public opinion). Not recommended for someone wanting a heavy plot. Alright, I've talked enough, let's get to it. Oh wait! Also, this is written from Jaune's point of view. Okay,** _ **now**_ **let's get to it!)**

I yawned, stretching out slightly as I rubbed away at my eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them. " _Another day in Vale._ " I absently thought as I tried to move. It was only when I heard the whimpering of complaint that I looked down, smiling slightly at what I saw. It was a small husky puppy, gray and black fur so soft and long it gave her the impression of a little snowball. I reached over, scratching behind her right ear to try and wake her up. "Come on girl, it's time to get up." I said. As if on cue, said puppy opened it's eyes, silver one's meeting blue as she barked, high pitched and somewhat loud. I reached over, picking her up with one hand before I moved her off the bed, setting her on the ground. I swung my legs around, setting them next to her as she reached up, scratching at my bare leg with her tiny claws. "I've _got_ to get a better lock on that little cage of yours." I muttered, looking at the corner of the room.

In the corner was an opened cage, the lock opened and slightly wet. I looked back down, picking up the little puppy with both hands. I held her at arm's length as she lolled her tongue out, panting slightly towards me. "Aren't you a clever little girl?" I said, moving her over to my lap. I slowly moved my hand down her back, enjoying her soft fur. I saw her lean down, giving what may have been a smile as she contently laid in my lap. To think that a puppy, not even two months old, would be smart enough to open her own cage. Who'd have thought? Maybe five minutes later I realized I still needed to get everything done, so I picked her up, setting her on the ground. She gave out a little whimper, but I just smiled down at her. "It's alright Ruby, we'll play later. Go get your sister!" I said, slipping into that babyish voice I tended to use with her. She barked, skittering out the open door towards the main room. In the meantime, I went the opposite direction, heading into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

When I walked out, I smiled at myself in the mirror. I was wearing what I normally did, a simple pair of jeans and a T-shirt. I heard a light skittering before I turned, smiling down. I saw Ruby, as I expected, rushing towards me, as well as a larger dog. This one was older, though still fairly young. She had a long, yellow coat, needed to get her to the barber soon. Oum knows I couldn't do it. She barked, sitting down in front of me as she normally did. I reached over, rubbing behind her ear as strong as I could. Yang wasn't like Ruby, I couldn't be gentle with her. Guess that was in part from her mother being a fox and her father being a Dhole. I turned my attention back to the little husky puppy, " _Guess you didn't get anything from your daddy huh?_ " I thought. I stood, walking towards the main room before I looked back, smiling wider as I saw Yang bite the back of Ruby's neck, carrying her over with her as she followed me.

I walked back in the main room, my eyes widening a bit as I saw the large, german shepherd striding towards me. "Heel girl!" I said, holding out my hand. He obeyed, stopping just before me and barking twice, deep and low pitched. I looked around, going through my mental checklist like I always did in the morning. In front of me was the glass counter, the glass still cracked near the top like always. I looked to the left, seeing all the dog toys exactly where they belonged, on the right shelves and everything. I opened the drawer near the cash register, seeing the revolver and switchblade. " _Alright, securities just fine._ " I thought. Granted, I'd never had to _use_ them, Pyrrha scared most burglars off pretty easily, but still, it never hurt to be prepared. I walked over to the side, tapping on the glass of the fish tanks as they started swimming. I didn't see any dead fish, so that was good and normal. "Alright, ready for the day." I muttered, smiling slightly as I walked towards the two glass doors.

I flipped on the lights, then flipped over the closed sign to the open side. I turned, walking back towards the three dogs as Ruby skittered over to me again, barking up at me. I chuckled as I reached down, picking up Ruby and cradling her in one arm, lightly stroking her in the other. The second, and I mean the _second_ I got back behind the counter, I heard the doorbell chime. "Welcome to the Beacon Pet Center! How may I help you?" I asked out of habit, looking towards the person that just entered. Though, the second I realized who it was, I dropped the formalities. "Oh, hello Ozpin." I said, smiling slightly as I kept stroking Ruby. The older man smiled at me, his cane thudding against the ground as he walked over. He had on the same green suit he normally did, his eyes peaking out over what I guessed were his reading glasses.

"Hello Mr. Arc." he said, holding out a hand. I stopped petting Ruby for a second, shaking his hand quickly before I went right back to petting the little husky in my arms. I coughed, looking over to the left, "You're here to pick up Glynda right?" I asked. He simply nodded. I set Ruby down on the ground, much to her dismay, before I walked around the counter, heading for the door marked 'Adoption center'. Though granted, I still used it as a place to store certain pets if need be. I pressed open the door, sniffing the air as I smelled the familiar scent of the animals I kept in here. I walked in, smiling at some of the dogs. "Hey Jacob, Russell, Cardin, Jonathan, Denka," I just kept saying, going past the pets that were kept in the cages back here. No one had adopted them yet, but I figured someone would eventually.

Finally, I came to the end of the hall, smiling down at the large dog behind the bars. I reached around my belt, grabbing my key ring and unlocking the cage. The sheepdog bounded out, heading straight towards Ozpin. "Hold on there girl!" Ozpin said, laughing as Glynda bounded up, licking the side of his face as I knew she did often. It was a few minutes later when she calmed down, contently rubbing against his side. He smiled at me, "I have to thank you for taking care of her, I couldn't find anyone else to look after an old sheepdog." he said, rubbing behind Glynda's ear as he did so. I nodded, waving it off with a hand. "Anytime Ozpin. Need to get anything else? Pyrrha can only guard the cash register for so long…" I said, gesturing behind us at the large german shepherd. He chuckled, shaking his head, "No no, this should be fine. Goodbye Mr. Arc." he said, walking through the doorway. I followed, shutting it behind me as he walked out of the store. "See ya later Ozpin!" I said, casually waving out the door.

I looked down, seeing Ruby looking at me expectantly. I sighed, rolling my eyes as I picked her up again, gently running my hand down her back and cradling her in my other arm again. "You are _such_ a handful sometimes." I said, smiling down at the little husky. As if to respond, she just looked up, barking at me. I sighed, gently rocking her slightly, "But you are _so_ worth it." I muttered, lightly scratching behind her ear. I saw her little tail wagging as she let out a little bark. I looked over at Pyrrha, seeing her standing sentry and looking at the door as always. Trained and ready. Yang, on the other hand, was just laying down, looking up at me. At first it was hard to even get _close_ to Ruby, what with the way Yang seemed to treat her almost like her own. Though, a month later and here we were, me carrying her little sister as she just watched was a pretty normal thing around here.

It was a pretty slow day, all things considered. A few people wanting dog toys, some wanting food, and me just holding and petting Ruby most of the day. It felt like just a few short minutes from waking up when I heard the familiar chime. Six o'clock. The time to close up shop. I laid Ruby on the counter, where she just laid there, unmoving. " _She fell asleep huh?_ " I thought. Granted, both Yang and Pyrrha were laying down too, both unmoving. I gently stepped over them, flipping the sign and locking the doors. I turned around, whistling as I walked back towards the room in back, where I slept. Ruby stayed asleep, but Yang and Pyrrha both sat up, looking towards me. "Time for bed girls." I said, grabbing Ruby in my arms again. Yang walked over to her cage, as was expected, while Pyrrha just walked over behind the counter, laying down in the dog bed nearby. I smiled, reaching down and rubbing behind her ear. "Good girl." I said. I walked back over to Yang, shutting the cage like I always did. It was more habit at this point than anything, I knew Yang wouldn't try and leave. Not that she could anyway, I mean the door was still locked.

I walked into my bedroom, crouching down near Ruby's cage. I gently laid her inside of it, shutting it back as quietly as I could. "Goodnight Ruby." I said quietly, unable to keep myself from smiling. There was something about the adorable little husky puppy that made her impossible _not_ to smile at when she was sleeping. I stood up, leaning backwards and hearing the popping of my spine before I tossed off my shirt, setting my key-ring back on the nightstand. I sat down as I pulled off my pants, laying back in bed in my boxers as I normally did. I yawned as I shut my eyes, "Night Ruby." I muttered. It was my imagination, I knew it was, but I honestly thought I could hear "Night Jaune." from within the room.

 **(a/n- not so subtle shifting to Pyrrha's point of view.)**

I heard the high pitched barking as I opened my eyes, the world almost lighting up. I sat up, shaking myself slightly before I shut my eyes again. " _Focus._ " I thought. I felt my body morphing, changing, until the second when I stood again. I looked over at the door, smiling at my reflection. That reflection was of a naked woman with bright crimson hair, a similarly colored tail coming from her lower back, and bright green eyes almost lighting up in the darkness. I looked over towards the cage Yang was in. I got on one knee, fiddling with the lock for a second before she padded out. She smiled up at me, her normally green animal eyes flashing with her normal lilac ones. She shut her eyes, likely doing something similar to what I was. I saw her legs growing longer, her arms growing slightly shorter, and her chest getting significantly larger.

When she was done, only one trait remained of the half-fox dhole that was in the cage. The blonde ears on top of her head. Maybe the long, yellow hair that stretched down over her rear, but that could've just been her hair. She smiled towards me, "Ruby gave the signal?" she whispered, still potentially afraid of being discovered. I nodded, slinking towards the door. All the practice and we could move through almost silently in the store. I opened the door to the bedroom, Yang on the other side, as I saw Ruby's cage. It was shut, her teeth on it as she lightly pulled back. Of course, she'd be at it for a few minutes if I didn't just lean down and open the cage. I did just that, Ruby padding out and smiling up at us. I saw her shut her eyes, her own body growing _quite_ a lot from her initial form, being as she was just a puppy, and me and Yang were almost in adult form.

When she stood, the only remains of her husky form was her tail. She was smaller than me and Yang, being as she was two years younger, but she was also the one that came up with the signaling idea. "He's asleep." she whispered, her tail wagging slightly in the dim light. Of course, it didn't matter, we could see no matter what. Yang sniffed, holding her nose as she stepped back, "Man, Ruby… you need a _bath_." she said. I sniffed, coughing when I finally noticed it. Ruby, being the puppy, was always getting into messes and fights with some of the _actual_ dogs Jaune took care of. I walked towards the bathroom, "Go ahead and take a bath Ruby, me and Yang'll stay here." I said. Ruby nodded, smiling towards us as, without another word, she walked into the bathroom, shutting the door. The light didn't come on, but we could still hear the shower going.

"How long can we keep this up?" Yang asked. I looked over at her, frowning slightly as I saw her ears pressed against her head. She was worried, and I didn't completely blame her. I walked over, hugging her for a second before she hugged back, "We've kept it up for two months haven't we? I think we'll be fine for a little while longer." I said. She pulled back, smiling over at me. Then she looked over at Jaune, giving a slight chuckle, "Yeah… you wonder how he'd react if he found out he was petting three naked girls for the past two months?" she asked, smirking slightly. I couldn't help but join in her laughter, though I still tried to keep quiet. Of course, Jaune wouldn't wake up, he was a _heavy_ sleeper. I mean, we'd accidentally cracked the glass on the counter and he'd _still_ slept.

"I don't know whether he'd be aroused, embarrassed, or just faint." I said, giggling as I did so. Yang joined me, but we were both stopped when we heard a noise coming from Jaune. We stayed the way we were, frozen in place right next to each other, for maybe thirty seconds before Jaune went back to normal, rolling over and giving slight snores, just enough that we knew he was there. "Yeah." Yang said simply. Then she sat down on the ground, leaning back against the wall as I just looked down, raising an eyebrow. "What? It takes Ruby awhile in the shower, you know that." she said. I was about to say something against that, but then I just nodded, sitting down next to her. I felt my confusion double as she laid over, her head in my lap, her eyes facing the bathroom door. I looked back, seeing her legs curling up beneath her. "Pet me." she said simply, her ears wiggling slightly.

I complied, petting her ears as I saw her face set in content. Even in our human forms we enjoyed being pet I guess. "What did Glynda have to say?" she asked, shutting her eyes as I moved my tail around, laying it over her slender stomach. I smiled as I let my fingers gingerly trail down her ears. Animal ears, faunus or normal, were always so soft. "She said Ozpin's treating her fine. She actually says she contemplating… revealing herself." I said. I felt Yang freeze up beneath me as she looked up, her eyes sparkling with worry. I shook my head, running a hand through her long, blonde hair to try and calm her down. "It's okay, she won't tell him about us." I said, smiling down at her. She shut her eyes again, letting out a slightly labored breath. It was in moments like these, when she dropped the confident and funny (also punny) exterior, when I saw just how much of a toll being a faunus had taken on her. She was terrified, and tired.

"You think she'll birth a litter?" she asked. I felt my face flush as I looked away, hoping against hope she wouldn't notice. Of course, since we could both see in the dark and were technically always naked, there weren't many secrets between us. "I don't know." I said simply. Yang opened her eyes, likely hearing the shower stopping. I looked up, seeing the door open, Ruby coming out, completely clean. She walked over, yawning her adorable little yawn as she looked down at me. "You guys go, clean the showers when you're done." she said. Then, she went and did what she always did when she got out of the shower. She immediately proceeded to move back the covers on Jaune's bed, pressing against his back and trailing her arms around him. I could see her tail wagging beneath the covers. Ruby always was a fan of close contact. Be it with Jaune, Yang, even me on occasion.

Yang stood, walking towards the bathroom. "Come on Pyrrha." Yang whispered. I nodded, standing and walking over to her. The two of us walked in the bathroom as I shut the door as quietly as I could. Thankfully, Jaune always shut the bathroom door before he went to bed, so we didn't have to worry about getting it exactly ajar. I turned, seeing Yang walking over to the shower, stepping in the tub before she flicked on the water. I just sat down on the towel that Ruby had laid out for us, considering it was the only thing that wouldn't send a shock of cold up my bare rear. I just watched Yang running her hands through her hair, using just a little bit of the shampoo Jaune had. We had to make sure to minimize our impact, otherwise he'd notice. After maybe three minutes she was done with shampoo, rinsing her hair off. "Pyrrha." she said, lilac eyes meeting green ones.

I nodded, getting in and using a smaller bit of shampoo than Yang, as I had less hair, and started washing my own hair. At first doing this made both of us blush brighter than my hair. Of course, after two months of the same routine, we'd grown used to it. Even when Yang unintentionally bumped her massive chest into my back I only regarded it as a minor nuisance. It only took both of us about ten minutes before we were done, and I quickly turned the shower off, listening closely for any sound that might indicate Ruby'd been discovered. Of course, all I could hear was the slight snoring of Ruby and the slightly heavier snoring of Jaune. I stepped out, grabbing my towel and, as quickly as I could, drying off. Then I tossed it to Yang, her nodding as she rubbed herself down as well. In order to minimize our impact on Jaune's life in human states, Ruby came up with the idea to just use one towel, which worked just fine.

When Yang was dry, she bent over, sitting on the side of the bathtub and wiping away at the water spots in the basin. Sure it would _probably_ dry overnight, but we weren't taking any chances. After a few minutes she tossed the soaking wet towel into the hamper, hiding it beneath one of Jaune's shirts. "Like we were never here." she said, smiling towards me. I nodded, returning the smile as the two of us walked out. I looked over, gaining a small smile on my face when I saw Ruby. She was back in her dog from, wagging her tail again as she gave a little bark towards Yang. Yang smiled, picking Ruby up and cradling her like Jaune did. Of course, Jaune also didn't have two large breasts for Ruby to set her paws on, allowing her to pull herself up and lick her sister's cheek. "Hehe, alright Rubes, go back to sleep." she said, setting her back down on the bed. Ruby then proceeded to rub against Jaune's chest, smiling when he started unconsciously petting her.

Me and Yang walked out, shutting the door behind us as we sauntered back into the main entrance. She looked over at me, raising an eyebrow as I walked back over to my dog bed, curling up on it like I normally would in my dog state. Thankfully it was out of plain view, just behind the counter. Yang walked over, laying down in front of me. I curled around her, my tail moving up between her legs to where it was on her stomach. I felt Yang's legs press together around my tail, keeping me from moving it. I moved my hands around, wrapping them around Yang's stomach before I set my chin on the back of her neck. "By the way, I never asked, how did you and Ruby end up with Jaune?" I asked. I mean, I'd been bought by him… I took my disguise as a Shepherd _very_ seriously, but Yang and Ruby just kind of showed up one day. Yang looked back, and she just smiled,

"It's a long story."

 **(a/n- Okay, so the decision for what characters are what animals wasn't that hard to be honest. Ruby alludes to Little Red Riding hood, what's closest to a wolf that's a domestic dog? A husky. Ruby acts adorable and is the youngest, solution? Make her a puppy. Pyrrha's one of the strongest characters in the series. What kind of dog protects people? A german shepherd. Yang… yeah I don't know where the half-fox dhole bit came from. (probably from a thread I read about Yang being a FOX-y mama a while back). Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review, favorite, watch, er… whatever it is, and let's just see where this goes.)**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two: Parks and meetings

Sleeping in.

One of the few luxuries being a pet center worker allowed me to afford. It was Saturday, meaning I didn't have to wake up at four in the morning and work until six at night. Mostly since the center was closed on the weekends. I felt a wet sense on my cheek as I groggily opened my eyes. I saw the pair of silver eyes in front of me, and then I heard the high pitched barking. I pushed down on the bed, forcing myself back against the wall as a smile found its way to my face. There was Ruby, rolled over on her back, asking me to pet her. I complied, picking her up with one arm and cradling her like I normally did as I swung my legs around, hearing the thud as they hit the floor. I looked over, seeing my alarm clock set at seven in the morning. Three hours later than I normally had to wake up. I set Ruby down, her quickly flipping back over and barking at me, clawing at my leg with her tiny little paws. "You know what day it is Ruby, go get your sister!" I said, pointing out the door. When Ruby skittered away, I walked to the bathroom, getting ready for the day.

When I walked back out, I saw Ruby, Yang, and Pyrrha rushing towards me. Pyrrha just sat down, calm as ever, Ruby was on my leg, clawing at it like the excitable puppy she was. Yang, on the other hand, was just rubbing against my side. Still affectionate, but not as much as her younger sister. I scoped up Ruby in one arm, grabbing my keys with the other. "You're all excited for today aren't you?" I asked, already knowing the answer. Pyrrha answered with a bark, Yang doing the same thing, though her bark wasn't as low pitched as Pyrrha's. I walked past the two older dogs, heading out into the main store. As soon as Yang and Pyrrha were in front of me I turned around, locking the door to my bedroom. I reached over, grabbing my switchblade and shoving it, closed of course, into my front pocket, where I also stored my keys.

I reached back, making sure I had my wallet with me as well, then I picked up my scroll. I scrolled through my missed calls, seeing only one from Ozpin. It was just him asking about Glynda, the call was dated back almost a week ago after all. I set my scroll back in my pocket, heading for the front door. As an afterthought, I grabbed the smallest collar I could, clipping it around Ruby's neck. Ruby gave a small noise of complaint as I grabbed a leash, curling it up around my hand. "Sorry Ruby, just in case." I said. I wasn't worried about Yang or Pyrrha, they were big enough they could take care of themselves, and they would always come when I whistled for them. Ruby, on the other hand, would always come back when I whistled, but she wasn't big enough to defend herself. If someone got her, I'd rather someone know she was mine and not just a lost puppy.

I walked out of the door, shutting off the lights as I saw Yang and Pyrrha rushing out ahead of me, right onto the sidewalk. I locked the door, smiling at myself in the glass. I looked the same as normal, except now I didn't have that badge of the Beacon Pet Center I normally wore. I turned away, my feet taking me down the familiar route to the park. I just started walking down the sidewalk, careful not to step on any of the cracks out of habit. I looked around, seeing that, on a weekend, there weren't that many people out. A few here and there of course, but no one I found of interest. That is, until I looked ahead of me. I smiled slightly, giving a little wave towards the man walking towards me. "Hey Doc." I said absently, giving a laid back smile towards him. He smiled right back, pushing up his clouded glasses and (attempting) to straighten his askew tie. He walked over, looking at the little ball of fluff in my arms as he chuckled, "Off to the park I see?" he asked, speaking almost faster than I'd think a hummingbird would.

I nodded, "Yep, that's where I normally go on Saturdays." I said. Of course, he knew that. He reached down, rubbing behind Ruby's neck as I could've sworn I saw her smile. Ruby, Yang, even Pyrrha knew Oobleck pretty well at this point. I mean, he _was_ one of the few veterinarians in Vale in the first place, so they'd gotten used to seeing him around. "She's doing well I see. Keeping her out of trouble I hope?" he asked, smirking slightly as he stepped back from Ruby. I chuckled, looking off to the right as I remembered everything that was going on, "Well uh, sort of. You know how puppies are." I said, nearly unconsciously lowering my voice. Oobleck laughed, patting me on the shoulder as he went on, taking a sip from his thermos. I looked back, seeing him dashing forwards down the sidewalk. Where he was going? I didn't know. He was probably on his way to his office.

The rest of the walk to the park was pretty uneventful, no one else I knew coming up and greeting me, or anyone I didn't know for that matter. Though, when I finally saw the sign leading into the Vale city park, I set Ruby down, already seeing the lumbering St. Bernard heading towards me. I fell back onto the sidewalk, feeling a lot of slobber on my face as I reached up, petting behind the large dog's ear. "NORA! DOWN GIRL!" I heard a familiar voice say as the large dog got off of me, still rubbing against my side as I sat up. I saw a hand reached out towards me, and I smiled up at the owner as he helped me up. "Hey Ren. Haven't seen you in awhile." I said, reaching into my back pocket and pulling out a handkerchief, wiping at my face. When you worked with animals all day like I did, you got used to this kind of thing. I shoved it back in my pocket as I heard Ren speak, "Yeah, I've been a bit busy with the restaurant, you know how it is." he said, reaching down and petting Nora.

Ren was a few inches shorter than me, with a long, black ponytail down his back. He was dressed similarly to me, except with a green t-shirt and khakis instead of a white t-shirt and jeans. The only thing he had that wasn't ordinary was the necklace around his… well neck. It was a simple bead necklace, with a pink stone on the end, a lotus flower carved into it. Magenta eyes met blue one's as I nodded. "Yeah, I get it. Today and Sunday are really my only days off. I'm guessing you don't have many either." I said. Ren owned the Lotus Cafe on the other side of Vale, a place I'd only been a few times before I started the Beacon pet center. Like me, Ren started up his own business and had been growing since then. Unlike me, Ren had people working under him, so he wasn't the only one dealing with customers. He nodded, "I've got Saturday's off of course. At least while my apprentice is still training. Still, I don't work the same hours you do." he said.

I shrugged, smiling over behind Ren as I saw that, while we were talking, Nora, Ruby, and Yang had all gone off into the park, playing in the field. "Looks like someone's eager." I said, gesturing behind him at Ruby, who was riding on Nora's back as she ran around with Yang. Ren looked back, letting out a small laugh before he turned, seeing Pyrrha still sitting by my side. "She's loyal huh?" he asked, gesturing to the large German shepherd. I nodded, reaching down and petting behind Pyrrha's ear, just where she liked it. "Yeah. Pyrrha here wouldn't so much as breath if I didn't tell her to. She's a great guard dog… don't know what I'd do without her." I said, standing back up straight, looking back towards Ren. I noticed him looking off towards Nora, the lumbering St. Bernard still carrying Ruby on her back as she started playing with Yang. I looked down at Pyrrha, "It's alright girl, go and play with the others." I said, patting Pyrrha's head.

She took off, as expected, to run around with the other dogs. Meanwhile, me and Ren walked over to the bench nearby, both of us sitting down and leaning back like we normally did. "So… you heard about the crime spree recently?" he asked. I looked over, seeing him looking over his shoulder. I sighed, Ren was always a little bit paranoid about these kinds of things, people listening in on conversations. Hell, it took him four years to learn to trust _me_. I nodded, "Yeah. Found the old man butchered in his own home. Pet went missing too." I said. He was clearly referring to the most recent in a long string of murders. No one know the culprit, there were no footprints and forced entry, even when the doors were locked. It was like he/she just appeared out of thin air. "Yeah. Some people say it's a ghost… I've got another theory." he said, smiling slightly.

"I don't think I'm gonna like where this is going…" I said. Of course, that was always the case with Ren's 'theories'. Very rarely did he have a right one, though, when he did, it was normally beneficial to know ahead of time. "You probably won't consider where you work. _My_ theory, is that the _pets_ are the ones killing people." he said. I looked away, "Come on! You've heard all the stories about the faunus! Where they hide in plain sight as animals, luring you in and killing you when you least expect it!" he said, lowering his voice. He looked towards our dogs playing, towards Ruby in particular. I looked over, noticing that Pyrrha was walking towards us, laying down at our feet. This wasn't uncommon, mostly since she got tired quickly when playing with the much more energetic dogs I took care of.

"That puppy Ruby… she seems too smart to be a normal dog, doesn't she? I mean come on! What two month old puppy can open her own cage!?" he asked, frantically whispering. I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose before I looked down again, seeing Pyrrha rubbing against my leg. I leaned down and pet behind her ear again, smiling slightly at her. "You think Ruby's… what? Some kind of faunus? Ren, come on, the faunus went extinct almost a hundred years ago, you _know_ that. Humanity wiped them out." I said. It may have just been poor timing, but the moment I said that, I felt Pyrrha shake herself slightly. Then, I heard her growling. I looked at her oddly, "What is it giiiiir- HEY!" I yelled, standing up and running towards Ruby. Ruby, being the curious little puppy she was, had wandered closer to the woods edge, apparently catching the attention of a nearby fox. Yang was distracted for a moment, playing with Nora. "YANG! NORA! SICK 'EM!" I yelled, pointing towards the fox with Ruby under it's paw.

Yang and Nora both turned, both growling and barking like mad dogs as all of us made a mad dash for the woods. The fox seemed to take notice, leaving Ruby and bounding off and seemingly climbing a nearby tree. Yang and Nora both leapt at the tree, barking up it as they tried to climb and get the fox. Meanwhile, I leaned down, picking Ruby up in my arms like I normally did. "Ruby! Let's see, any injuries?" I asked as I started looking over her, poking some of her joints to make sure she wasn't hurt. Thankfully, the only injury I could find was a small scratch on the back of her neck. I sighed in relief, seeing her looking up at me with those big silver eyes. "Ruby… you _know_ you're not supposed to go so close the woods without one of us! Bad girl!" I said, glaring at her as I held out a finger. Her ears drooped as she lowered her head, whimpering.

I sighed, petting her like I normally did. "You know I don't like scolding you, but you _have_ to be careful out here. It's not like in the store." I said quietly, gently petting her back the way she liked. I'd only had to scold Ruby a few times before she started to behave, making occasions like this all the more difficult, for me _and_ her. I knew she didn't know better, she may be smart for a dog, but she's still a puppy. "You want down?" I asked. Her response was to put her paws on my chest, licking at my face. That was her sign for 'Don't you dare put me down.', or something along those lines. I smiled, walking back towards Ren, who hadn't moved from his spot, carrying Ruby in my arms. "Thanks for the help Ren." I said sarcastically, sitting back down.

He shrugged, "You looked like you could handle it. I mean you had a Dhole, St. Bernard, and German Shepherd going after one fox, not counting you. I don't think I had to do anything." he said with a smile. He moved over, sitting down next to me and gently petting Ruby, a smile gracing his lips. "She is quite adorable, even for a puppy." he said, letting his fingers trail down her back like mine were. Ruby just sat there, quietly enjoying the sensation like she always did. I looked up for a second, seeing that, while they were no longer barking up the tree at the fox, Nora, Yang, as well as Pyrrha were all heading into the woods. While this would worry _other_ dog owners, it didn't worry me and Ren at all. The three dogs were _more_ than big enough to take care of themselves, and the only _real_ threat in the woods were the foxes and occasional coyotes. Course, Nora and Pyrrha were bigger than the coyotes. " _Wonder what they do back there all the time?"_ I thought as I looked back down at the husky puppy in my arms.

 **(a/n- shifting to Pyrrha's point of view again.)**

I padded into the forest, rather deep in at that, until the three of us found it. It was a small den, a hole in the ground really. It was originally occupied by a few moles, but the scent of dogs quickly drove them out. I walked in, the dust in the dark area stirring up, causing Nora to sneeze. I walked to the far side, Yang doing the same. In the meantime, Nora pushed up against a nearby boulder, moving it against the entrance like she always did. Then, when it was in front and we were _sure_ no one was nearby, we all shut our eyes, focusing to re enter our human states. I looked up, smiling at Nora. The only thing she kept from her dog form was her ears, like Yang did. Except Nora's flopped down from the top of her head down at her sides. Strangely, while her ears were still brown, like her fur coat, her hair was bright orange. She also had energetic blue eyes, and a chest almost larger than Yang's at that. All in all, most people would consider her beautiful. She'd have _no_ trouble finding a lover in Vale.

If only she were human.

"Why'd you call is in here Pyrrha?" she asked, her high pitched voice fitting about right with the smile and energetic personality. As a St. Bernard, Nora was playful and energetic, and apparently great with kids if her own accounts were anything to go by (they probably weren't). "Ren's onto us. Ruby at least." I said simply. I saw Yang's ears stand on end, even the normally perky Nora sported a more frightened expression. While it was true none of us were old enough to remember the war, we _all_ knew how it would end if the world found out faunus still lived among them. It would be the Menagerie Massacre all over again. "Why? What tipped him off?" Yang asked, keeping her voice low, as if afraid someone would catch us. I sighed, rubbing between my eyes, "It's one of his 'theories' as Jaune calls them. The recent string of murders, he thinks it's a faunus causing it." I said. We'd had _far_ too many close calls with Ren as it was. His natural talent for observation and noticing when things were out of place had nearly got us exposed more times than anything else. Even Ruby breaking the glass was easily fixed, drop a piece of the ceiling on it to make it look like an earthquake happened, but Ren finding us out? Not a chance.

"That _is_ a problem… wait! I have an idea!" Nora said, holding up one finger. I was about to ask what it was when Nora just continued on, rambling away like she always did. "Okay, so Ren thinks Ruby's a faunus and that all faunus are bad because one's committing murders. Well, the simple solution is to make sure he _can't_ find out! I can turn human, put on a hat or something, work some magic with him, and BLAMMO! Knock him out cold, tie him up and drag him back here!" she said. Me and Yang both looked at one another for a few seconds, clearly trying to comprehend the insane idea Nora was suggesting. Disguise herself, seduce Ren, and then trap him here? "Well that's an… interesting," "No it isn't that's a _terrible_ idea and you know it Pyrrha." Yang said, glaring at me. Of course, I tried to spare Nora's feelings. Yang, on the other hand, had no qualms with simply telling the girl how she felt.

Nora pouted slightly, "Aww… maybe we could get rid of him?" she asked, still frowning. I raised an eyebrow. I _knew_ what she was suggesting, but honestly an idea like that was so outside the box it was basically unheard of. "How do we do that huh? Turn human and hope he bleeds to death from a massive nosebleed? Oh, or maybe you can crush him to death with those massive tits of yours? Face it Nora, we can't kill anyone. I don't think you want to do that either." Yang said, glaring at the shorter faunus. Nora sighed, sitting down in the dust and leaning back against the stone wall of the den. "You _know_ I don't want to kill Ren, or Jaune, or _anybody_. What can we do though? If he finds out, we're _all_ dead. You _know_ he can figure it out with enough time." she said.

"You'll just have to be more careful girls." I heard a voice say from behind the boulder. It was a snarky voice, a sly one. The voice was deep enough to be male, no question there. I looked down, seeing the fox tail on the side of the boulder. I glared at said boulder, "What do you want?" I asked, feeling my instincts screaming at me. Move the boulder, take him down. Of course, doing so would also give him a last view at three naked woman so, maybe not the _best_ option. I heard him sigh, "Oh nothing much. Just like to say sorry for attacking that little puppy. I couldn't tell she was a faunus like us." he said. The three of us looked at each other, all our eyes widening. The fox we chased up the tree, the one we thought was trying to eat Ruby, a faunus? "What's your name?" Nora asked, walking closer to the boulder.

"Let me in sweetheart, I'll tell you." he said smoothly. I shook my head, looking towards Nora. She nodded, stepping away from the boulder as Yang and I moved away too, wary of prying eyes. "Okay fine, the name's Roman Torchwick, there, happy?" I heard him say basically through the boulder, an annoyed tone in his voice. Yang looked at me, her eyes asking what to do next. I just looked towards the newly named fox. "Why are you in this forest?" I asked. It was true it wasn't uncommon for _normal_ foxes to be out in the woods, but fox faunus? Now _that_ was a rare sight. "We aren't _all_ lucky enough to be cute animals humans want as pets. Some of us have to hide from humans, every day we're almost guaranteed to die if we aren't smart, fast, and lucky. Thankfully, I'm all of those things. Now are you letting me in or not?" he asked.

"As if we'd let you in and see us naked. Pervert." Yang said, glaring at the rock. I had to agree with her on that one, sure we were naked around each other but, we were all girls. A _guy_ seeing us naked? That was another story. I heard the man sigh, "Hey, can't blame a guy for trying. Anywho~ I'll be leaving so you don't hunt me down when you come out. I'll be seeing you soon." I heard him say, then the sounds of footsteps fading off in the distance. We waited awhile, until the only sounds we could hear were each others breathing and the wind outside the den. Eventually, after who knows _how_ long, Yang spoke. "Well… that's new." she said, gesturing towards the rock where the fox faunus Roman was. Me and Nora nodded, none of us had ever seen a fox faunus before… well, unless you count Yang, as she was _technically_ part fox faunus and part Dhole.

"I think we better go, Jaune and Ren might get worried." I said. Nora and Yang nodded, Nora walking over and pushing on the boulder right away. I shook my head, glaring at Nora. Nora was confused for a second, before she face-palmed, nodding and smiling towards me. The three of us got on all fours, shutting our eyes as we turned back into our animal states. When I opened my eyes, rather than seeing two big-breasted woman, I saw a St. Bernard and a Dhole. I motioned towards the door with my head this time, Nora complying with the silent order and she pushed against it with her shoulder, moving it back to where it was. On the ground outside of the door though, there was what looked to be a rose, one of the many flowers from around here. I let out my dog equivalent of a sigh as I stepped over it, walking back through the woods towards Jaune and Ren as Yang and Nora followed behind.

Though, on our way out, I saw something rather odd. It was a black cat, jumping through the trees, just watching us. Yang and Nora both growled at it, our instincts not letting us _not_ do that. Though, it didn't hiss or run or anything, it just stared at us. Amber eyes gazed down unflinchingly, even when the three of us started barking at it. It just bounded away, rushing deeper into the woods. I stared after it, fighting my instinct to chase it down, but after a few moments I turned back, heading back towards Jaune and Ren. Of course, the second we burst out of the woods, I heard Jaune whistle, Ren doing the same. We all bounded towards them, Yang barking a few times to keep up the illusion. Jaune was still holding Ruby, so me and Yang just circled around his legs. Nora, on the other hand, lept up, licking at the side of Ren's face as he just laughed. "What have you been up to today huh Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, rubbing behind my ear as I felt a sense of euphoria erupting across my being. He knew _just_ where to pet to get any of us happy.

" _You have no idea._ "


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three: A new guest

I smiled as I started walking down the street, waving a quick goodbye to Ren as he and Nora started on their walk back the opposite direction, heading for Ren's home. I was still petting Ruby, more out of instinct than anything else. When I held a small, fuzzy object in my arms, cradled like a baby, I was inclined to pet it. Yang and Pyrrha kept walking ahead of me, sniffing around in places like I'd expect them too. Then, oddly, Pyrrha shot upright, looking off to the right, down an alley. Yang did the same, and even the adorable ball of fluff in my arms that was Ruby looked up, as if hearing something I didn't. I raised an eyebrow, walking ahead to Yang and Pyrrha. "What is it girls?" I asked. Then, I heard it.

Crying.

It was faint and small, either rather far away or the cries of a young child. I looked down the alley, taking a breath as I, remembering the last time I walked into a dark alley, moved Ruby into my left arm, holding my switchblade in my shaky right hand. I started walking down, Pyrrha and Yang keeping to the sides of me, as if keeping their eyes out for threats. I kept walking, further and further, until I saw the source. It was the backside of a basket, one with a hood covering part of it, concealing what it held from plain view. I raised an eyebrow as I walked ahead, looking down at the sides. There were beautiful, no doubt handmade etchings in the sides, illustrations of some kind of ferocious battle between normal people and one's with animal features. The faunus wars. I walked around to the front, my eyes widening as I saw the source of the crying.

It was a baby.

I kneeled down, sitting Ruby next to me as I looked closer. It had stark white hair, unlike any I'd ever seen before. Their skin was about the same way, pale. I noticed that, beneath it's neck, I couldn't see anything, it being hidden beneath the blanket. I set my switchblade back in my pocket as I reached forward, grabbing the white blanket with my index finger and thumb. I slowly peeled it back, revealing the child's skin to be pale down their body, little arms and legs flailing about as they cried. I felt a spark of pity as I, almost instinctively, reached over, grabbing the child from its crib. I pulled them out, looking down at them as I cradled them in my arms the way I did Ruby. "Shh, it's okay. You're fine." I whispered, lightly rocking it back and forth.

This seemed to calm the child down a bit, enough that they just leaned against my chest, their breathing slowing as I realized that, despite the movements, it was asleep. I looked down, seeing a plain white diaper adorning it's rear. I pulled back on the front, making sure it wasn't wet. "Well, at least I know you're a girl now." I said, leaning down and gently setting the child in the crib. I pulled the blanket back up, smiling slightly at her. I looked down, noticing there was a name carved into the front of the basket. Not what I'd personally have picked for her, but I guessed it was her name.

Weiss.

I looked around, thinking that maybe the mother or father or, somebody, was nearby. Maybe they just stepped away for a moment? If so, I was about to give them a piece of my mind for leaving a child unattended in a dark alley. Though, when I looked, I found that me and Weiss were the only one's in the alley… well, the only _human_ ones anyway, since Ruby, Pyrrha, and Yang were still with us. I looked around, frowning down at the crib. "Well… I can't just leave you here." I muttered, grabbing at the handle on top of the basket. I tried to be gentle, even though I was just carrying it in one hand. I looked around, trying to make sure no one was about to pop out and accuse me of kidnapping their kid. Though, when no one appeared, I walked out, right back to where I was at the entrance to the alley.

" _Might need some baby supplies for the day._ " I thought. With that in mind, I turned off the road that would lead me to the pet shop, instead taking a right, towards one of the few places in Vale I knew that sold baby supplies. It was a bit of a walk, maybe three minutes or so, but when I walked in the door, I knew exactly where I was going. I walked through the aisles, right to the place the diapers were. I looked down, trying to see the sleeping girl in the crib. "She's the smallest size." I heard a voice say. The voice was, while not harsh or condescending, strangely monotone, as if not really caring. When I looked up, I saw a woman with black hair that flowed down to her waist. She was wearing sunglasses, jeans, a t-shirt, and a black bow, oddly enough. She grabbed a pack of diapers, handing them to me, never changing her expression. Even when she grabbed a bottle of baby powder and then formula, handing it to me.

The only time her expression changed was when Ruby clawed at her legs, barking. Then she gave a small smile, reaching down and rubbing her hand along Ruby's head. Then she stood, and just walked away, as if nothing had happened. " _Weird… didn't even catch her name._ " I thought. Normally when I talked to someone in Vale they'd at _least_ introduce themselves to me. I pushed the thought aside, juggling the baby supplies in one hand, the baby in the other. I set the supplies on the counter, an old man with gray hair that stuck up almost all over the place. He was scanning them with the motions of someone that had done the same action a thousand times before. He put them in a bag, then pointed towards the counter. I reached behind me, grabbing my wallet and pulling it out, looking through my money. I felt my face pale, "Umm…" I said. I wasn't packing enough lien with me to pay for everything.

The man just smiled, handing me the bag. "First one?" he asked, gesturing to the little girl in the crib. I blinked twice, looking down at her, then back up at the man. I thought about telling him the truth for a moment but, considering it was _technically_ true… and the only way I was getting the needed supplies, I just nodded. "Thank you." I said, handing the supplies to Pyrrha. She knew what to do, biting down on the bag and carrying it out of the store. I started walking, heading back towards my store. On the walk, I couldn't help but smile, " _I owe that old man a visit or three down the road._ " I thought. He'd obviously have to be the person I come to when I needed baby supplies from now on.

The walk back was relatively uneventful, and when we got to the entrance, I reached behind me, pulling out my key and opening up the shop. Ruby immediately dashed in, sitting down at the door that lead to the bedroom. Yang nudged against my hand while Pyrrha moved forward, sitting still in the center of the store, awaiting orders I guessed. I shut and locked the doors to the store, turning back around and heading towards the bedroom. When I opened the bedroom door, Ruby rushed in immediately, heading for her own cage. Pyrrha walked in past me, laying the bag on my bed, that being the only thing she could reach, and Yang laid down near her sister. I walked over to the bed, setting the sleeping girl and her crib down before I sat next to her.

I spent the next couple minutes distant, even when Pyrrha nudged against my hand… just thinking. " _What am I going to do with you?_ " I absently thought. Of course, the first chance I got I'd be handing her over to the police, a missing child and all that. Though, I couldn't help but wonder why she was abandoned in the first place. I mean, there _must've_ been a reason right? It clearly wasn't money if the family could afford such a delicate handmade basket, as well as a pure silk blanket. I was finally drug out of my train of thought by the buzzing at my side. I raised an eyebrow, looking down at my pocket. I reached in, pulling out my scroll to see someone had texted me. 'Is Weiss safe?'. That was the message. I quickly responded, almost without thinking, with a yes.

'Thank Oum. I know who you are, Jaune Arc. You will meet me at a later date. The girl is mine. Do not bring her to the police. Do not let her be seen in public unless absolutely necessary. For your cooperation, you will find a large sum of lien has been deposited into your bank account, and will continue to be deposited so long as Weiss is in your care. If you are a good person, and I believe you are, then please, protect her.'. I raised an eyebrow at this. Don't bring her to the police? Asking if she's safe? Don't bring her in public? Who the heck was I dealing with? "Who are you?" I muttered aloud, then typing the same message. I got a response almost instantly, the person was clearly by their scroll, figuring that I'd speak to them and have questions. 'You may call me Winter, if it sooths your curiosity. You will not be able to get ahold of me via scroll. I will contact you again, but in person. Only when it is safe. One more thing, do not trust Adam.'.

I tried to text again, only to get an odd message. " _Error: This number no longer exists… what?! I was just texting her… him, it, whatever._ " I thought, slowly setting my scroll down on the nightstand, next to the baby supplies. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried or freaked out, I definitely was. I looked down, petting behind Pyrrha's ear to try and calm myself down. I found that, for a few seconds, it actually worked. Then I jumped at the sound of a slight noise. I looked over, seeing that the noise came from the crib Weiss was in. I spun the crib around, smiling slightly as I saw it. Two big, icy-blue eyes gazing back at me. Filled with that innocence and wonder that only came with youth. I reached over, gently wrapping my hands around her back and pulling her out of the crib, laying her down on my lap. She just looked up at me, her mouth hanging slightly open as her eyes looked around, finally settling on me.

I saw her reach her hands up, making little grabbing motions with them. I smiled, "You want me Weiss? I'm right here." I said, reaching down and standing her up. She reached towards me, lightly tapping her fists on my head as she let out little high pitched giggles. I looked down, seeing Pyrrha walking up, licking at Weiss's foot. She looked down, making those same, little grabbing motions towards her. I raised an eyebrow as I gently set her down on my lap. Pyrrha was gentle, moving forward and laying her head next to her. Weiss moved her hands forward, grabbing tufts of Pyrrha's fur in her hands and running through them, letting out those same babyish giggles. I couldn't help but smile for a few seconds before Pyrrha leaned back, shaking her fur out slightly. Though, a few seconds later, I heard the familiar high pitched barking. Sure enough, when I looked down, I noticed Ruby scrambling to get up on the bed.

I reached down, scooping her up in one hand and laying her on my lap. I was a bit concerned of course, but Ruby almost seemed frightened of Weiss, staying back away from her. Weiss didn't make those motions with her, only watched with seemingly curious eyes. A few minutes later though, and I felt Weiss shudder, her eyes welling up. When she started crying, Ruby bolted. "What's wrong Weiss?!" I asked, forgetting for a moment that a baby couldn't answer me. I was about to start panicking, when I smelled it. It was a bad smell, obviously, and when I moved her around, I sighed, realizing that I was changing diapers again. I grabbed the bag from the table and walked towards the bathroom, "Don't worry, we'll get you changed." I said absently, smiling down at her before I shut the door.

A few minutes later I walked out, Weiss in a clean diaper, but still crying. I frowned, "Let's see, you've been changed… uh, what else…" I muttered. Then, I felt a nudging on my hand. I looked down, seeing Yang licking my hand before she moved over, nudging the bottles of baby formula on the table. "Food! Thanks Yang." I said, rubbing behind her ear for a second before I grabbed a bottle, walking towards the kitchen… which was really just a corner of the room with a sink and a microwave. I set Weiss on the side of the counter, laying her on her back so that she, hopefully, wouldn't fall off. I read the instructions on the side, making the bottle as quickly as I could. I scooped up Weiss, holding the bottle near her face. She took it, biting down on it and, surprisingly, grabbing at it with her hands, sucking away at what was inside. I smiled, turning around and sitting down on the bed as I helped feed the little girl.

Surprisingly, it took _three_ bottles of the formula before Weiss seemed to be satisfied. I turned her around, remembering things my mother had taught me, and pat her on the back. After a few pats, she let out a little burp, and when I pulled back, I noticed her eyes drooping. I laid her back in the crib, pulling up her blanket to her chin, tucking her in. It was quiet… until I heard the knocking at the door, oddly enough. I stood, looking towards the three dogs. "Stay. Don't touch." I said, pointing towards Weiss. With that settled, I walked back to the front of the store, raising an eyebrow as I grabbed my keys, shutting the door behind me. At the door was a man dressed in police officer's garb, a gun at his waist and everything. I walked over to the door, smiling at him as I felt my switchblade weighing heavily in my pocket.

I opened the door, nodding towards him. "Officer. What can I do for you?" I asked, keeping the smile as I examined him, a bit paranoid. I noticed that he had bright red hair, almost unnaturally so, and his eyes were hidden by a pair of sunglasses. I looked down at his badge, seeing that it showed only a number, no help there. He nodded towards me, keeping a frown on his face. "Sir, I'm here investigating a missing person case. A child, two years of age. White hair, blue eyes. Have you seen anything like that?" he asked. I didn't nod or shake my head, but I kept my smile, "Well officer…" I left it hanging, hoping he would finish it for me, as most people would do. Fortunately, he was 'most people'. "Adam." he said simply. I felt a flashback to my text conversation, _very_ specifically telling me not to trust Adam.

"I'm afraid I don't know anything of the sort. The only young things you'll find in my store are the puppies. I only just came back from the park myself." I said. The officer looked behind me, his eyes seemingly boring into the door where Weiss, Ruby, Yang, and Pyrrha were stashed away. I unconsciously took a step to the right, trying to block his gaze. "What've you got in the back room?" he asked. I didn't have to see his eyes to know he was suspicious. I shook my head, keeping up my smile and trying to act like absolutely nothing was wrong. "It's just my bedroom. The other door off to the left is where all the strays are, waiting for someone to adopt them." I said. Adam nodded, turning around and walking away without another word. No goodbye, no asking to come inside, nothing. He just left.

I didn't think twice, shutting and locking the door before I, as calmly as I could, walked back into the bedroom. The second I got there, my eyes were immediately directed to Weiss, a small smile forming on my lips when I found that she hadn't moved or even stirred. I walked back over to the bed, sitting down where I was before. I looked at Weiss, seeing her sleeping soundly, the blankets moving up in time with her breathing. "Just who are you…" I muttered. I felt a weight on my lap as I looked down, seeing Ruby sitting on my lap. I reached down, petting her like I always did, but my eyes kept trailing to Weiss, making sure she was still asleep. Maybe half an hour later I set Ruby on the ground, "Alright girls, time for bed." I said, clapping as Yang and Pyrrha both walking towards the door. I opened it, walking forward with them as I reached into my pocket, shoving my switchblade back with the revolver. I saw Yang walk in her cage, and I quickly walked over there, shutting the door behind her.

I pet behind Pyrrha's ear, giving her a little smile as she laid down in her bed, shutting her eyes. I stood, walking back in the bedroom as I saw, oddly, Ruby sniffing around Weiss's basket. "Ruby! No!" I said. She jumped back immediately, her tail wagging as she looked towards me. I sighed as I picked her up, laying her back in her cage as I always did. She laid down, curling into a ball like she almost always did when she went to sleep. I locked her cage, even though she'd unlock it in the morning anyway, before I walked back to the bed. I took Weiss's basket and laid it back down on the floor, on the opposite side of the room, just in case I woke up in the middle of the night. I stripped off my shirt and jeans, laying back down on the bed with a sigh. "What am I gonna do?" I muttered allowed. Then I grabbed the blanket, pulling it over me as I fell into a restless sleep.

 **(a/n- you guessed it, Pyrrha's point of view.)**

I heard the high pitched barking as I stood, morphing back into my human state. I reached over, opening Yang's cage as she stepped out, morphing into her human state as well. Rather than her normally happy expression, this time she shared my expression of concern. We didn't speak this time, walking into the bedroom as quietly as we could. I opened Ruby's cage and she, as usual, entered her human state. Even the most cheerful of us sported a concerned expression. "What are we gonna do?" Yang asked, breaking the silence. I took a breath, looking between Jaune and the toddler Weiss.

"We'll keep things going like we have been. Jaune suddenly having a kid to take care of isn't going to affect us all that much, is it?" I asked, smiling at the two shorter girls. I was trying to do damage control, keep them calm. Though, based on the looks on their faces, I wasn't doing a very good job. Yang opened her mouth, but we all froze when we heard it, the slight crying. We looked over, seeing the culprit in the corner of the room, the little crib rocking slightly. The three of us slowly and cautiously approached, as if worried the baby would suddenly bounce up and kill the three of us. We tiptoed around as I slowly spun the basket, making it face us and, by extension, Jaune. Weiss's face was twisting with discomfort as she let out little cries, waving her tiny fists up. I frowned as I, despite the objections of my fellow faunus friends, moved the blankets back and picked the girl up.

I cradled her in my arms as I felt her slowly her cries, seemingly calming down. I held her against my bare chest as I smiled, "There there. Everything's gonna be al-HA!" I felt a hand over my mouth before I could scream, all of us freezing as I moved Weiss back, my face bright red. When Jaune didn't seem to stir, Yang moved her hand back, raising an eyebrow. "I think she's hungry…" I said, holding her out to Yang as I moved my hands over my breasts. Yang looked at me for a second before she blushed, "Ooooh… wait why'd you give her to me?!" she said, her face paling slightly. I couldn't help but chuckle as I spoke.

"Well you _are_ the biggest one of us." I said, looking down towards her chest. Her face turned as red as my hair when I heard Weiss start crying again. I felt the fur on my tail bristle as I heard the one sound I didn't want to hear. "Huh? Weiss?!" I heard Jaune say as he started to get up. I looked at the other's with panicked eyes as I took the child from Yang's hands, laying her back in the crib, still crying, before I dashed towards Jaune. I didn't even think as I dove beneath the bed, Yang soon following and diving right next to me. Ruby, on the other hand, went another direction. Rather than dive beneath the bed, she jumped up, moving to the corner of the room and nearly slamming her hands on the wall. Jaune _miraculously_ didn't seem to notice as he stood, nearly dashing over to Weiss as he moved the blankets. "Shh shh shh, it's okay… it's okay…" Jaune said, pulling Weiss out from the blankets and cradling her, slowly rocking her back and forth as he whispered words I couldn't hear to her.

When she seemed to calm down, Jaune yawned, but still he looked at her with concern. "Nightmares this young? What have you been through?" he said, muttering to himself as he walked over to the bed, laying down. After a few minutes me and Yang slowly got out from beneath the bed, standing up a moment later. I looked over, seeing Ruby's face red as her arms were shaking. Yang walked over immediately, holding out her arms as Ruby let go, Yang stumbling back as she caught her panting younger sister. I looked over at Jaune, and despite almost being discovered, I couldn't help but smile. He'd laid Weiss where he normally slept in bed, him moving over to the other side and gently laying an arm around Weiss. She seemed to like it as she moved her hands up, seemingly snuggling into his arm.

"Okay, _that_ was close." Yang said as she set Ruby down, pointing out the obvious as always. I nodded, holding out a hand to Ruby as Yang let her go. She just stumbled for a second before she fell flat on her back, making quite a loud thud. I grabbed Yang's hand and dived to the floor as I saw Jaune rearing his head up. "Hmm? Someone there?" I held my breath as I felt Yang shudder on top of me, likely becoming incredibly nervous all of the sudden. We waited for awhile before I heard what sounded like a grunt, and the noise of covers being set back on the bed. I let out a sigh of relief, then I heard the mumbling. I looked down, blushing bright red as I noticed the strands of hair beneath me. This wouldn't be so bad normally… but then I realized what it meant the wet sense on my breasts was. I leaned back, Yang moving back off of me as I saw Ruby, her face bright red, panting.

"I thought I was gonna suffocate!" she whisper yelled between pants. I felt my own face burn as bright as my hair as I stood, Ruby just twisting around onto her back. "I think I'm just going to bed." she said, standing up and walking towards Jaune. Me and Yang both shared a look before we each grabbed one of Ruby's arms, pulling her back away from the bed. "Sis, I know you like sleeping with Jaune at night. But it needs to stop. It's too risky." Yang said, frowning towards her sister. I was doing the same. Neither of us liked to deprive Ruby of something she enjoyed, _especially_ when it came to cuddling next to Jaune, but we didn't have much choice. "Ruby, if you want to cuddle with Jaune, you need to be in your dog form, okay?" I asked, giving her a little smile. Ruby just slowly nodded, her eyes longingly gazing at Jaune's side, the place where she spent most of her nights. Then she got down on all fours, slowly shifting back into a puppy.

I looked over at Yang as I picked up Ruby and laid her in the bed, the little puppy crawling around and lying just beneath Weiss, a fair bit away from Jaune. Ruby even had those sad puppy dog eyes she was so good at, dog form or not, when she fell asleep. "I hate doing this to her…" I said, frowning towards my friend's puppy form and the new baby. Yang laid a hand on my shoulder, patting it a few times before I looked over at her. "I don't like it either. You know Ruby loves to cuddle, taking that away was the _last_ thing I wanted to do… but we can't risk it. Let's get some rest." she said, walking back around towards the door. I took one last look at Ruby before I turned around, shutting the door and heading back into the main room. I shut that door behind me, knowing that thanks to the way the handle was Ruby could open it in human form or not. Then I turned, seeing Yang standing next to the bed.

"Hey… can I be in back tonight?" she asked, her ears perking up a bit. I raised an eyebrow, Yang had always just let me be the one hugging her from behind, mostly since I was taller. I just shrugged, giving her a nod as I laid down. I felt two arms wrap around my stomach, my tail trapped between Yang's legs as I just curled up, trying to get used to my place. I felt my face flush as Yang's hands slowly reached up during the course of maybe ten minutes, until eventually she had them wrapped around my breasts. I looked around, "Yang? Your… Your hands…" I said, only to see Yang sound asleep. I sighed as I turned around, just trying to sleep. All the while, I was blissfully unaware of the smirk on Yang's face, even when I felt the pressure on my breasts get significantly stronger. I didn't even hear her mutter,

"Now you know how getting groped every night feels."

 **(a/n- so yeah… Weiss as a baby and Winter claiming to be her mother… as well as a little perverted Yang during the end. I've got a few ideas to work with this one.)**

 **(a/n- and I shouldn't have to say this, but no White Knight in this fic. Jaune's a father figure to Weiss as of now. NOTHING. ELSE. She is NOT a romantic option in this fic. Again, this is probably obvious, but I'm making this note about it just in case.)**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four: Huntsmen, faunus, and babies

"Bring forth the beast."

I felt myself dragged forwards, harsh grips on my arms as I trudged along, my way completely blotted out by the blindfold I'd been clad in. I felt myself forced to the ground, my restraints locked into place behind me. "Reveal him." I heard the deep voice say again. I felt my blindfold torn off, and it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the light. I looked around, seeing only a few men standing there. The one that first caught my eye was standing in front of me. His eyes were hidden away behind a mask, carved of wood and painted to look like a demonic bull, with large horns sticking out of the head. Beneath that he wore a large black robe, stretching down to his feet. Most noticeably, he held a red katana in his hand. He approached me, crouching down. "So you are the one? The slayer of huntsmen?" he asked through an obviously disguised voice. I just smirked,

"You already know the answer."

He pulled back, nodding towards the shadows to his right. I saw a figure emerge from them, this one wearing a strange eagle mask, with two feathers painted along the sides. He was dressed in a long, black robe. "The last member of the order of Scorpio. The last of his kind." he said. He had a voice like a teenager, no question he was young. I just chuckled, my eyes narrowing in on him. "I'd prefer it if you used my _name_ and not my title." I said, narrowing my eyes dangerously. I saw another figure walkout beside him, leaning down on one knee towards me. The way this one walked, as well as the shape, this one was female. She was wearing a form fitting white robe, with a stranger mask than the other two. This one was made of green, red, and blue swirls, all made to spiral into the center. "We don't know your name. Care to tell us?" she asked. Her voice was high pitched, but she sounded like she didn't really give a damn.

"My name is Tyrian Callows thank you very much."

The bull masked one nodded, walking over to me. He tapped the blade in front of me. "You know why we've brought you out of your cell." he said. I nodded, smirking wildly at him. Of _course_ knew. They'd _never_ let me out of my cell normally, unless… "You want me to kill someone hard to get, right?" I asked, looking between the three. All three of them nodded, looking between one another. The bull masked one moved behind me, but I could still hear him just fine. "Weiss Schnee. Two years of age. The daughter of the late Jacques Schnee. Only her sister remains in hiding. This little girl is our key. Find and kill her. Kill anyone that's come into contact with her. Can you do that?" he asked. I started laughing, soft at first, then louder, and louder, until eventually I was looking up at the ceiling with the amount my head was being thrown back. "Of _course_ I can! I killed her old man! She's no different!" I yelled.

CLANG!

I let out one last chuckle as I felt my chains shattered, my hands free. I looked back, slowly moving my tail as I tried to get the stiffness out. I didn't want to sprain it now did I? I stood, rising up and taking a breath. Then I let it go, crouching down as I readied my stinger. I looked over, strangely seeing someone walked closer. This one was unmasked, chained up too. She was clad in brown rags, with a collar around her neck. The most obvious thing that gave away the nature of her visit was the lack of animal traits. A human girl. I stood, walking over to her. She leaned down, reaching up towards me. I couldn't help but let out a high pitched squee as I saw it. My blade, MY BLADE! "OH AT LAST!" I yelled, snatching it from her as I swung it around, holding it right up. Then I looked down, holding the blade parallel to my shoulder. The girl looked frightened, but I just smirked.

"GAH!"

The girl was dead before she hit the floor, her head rolling away towards the bull masked man. I laughed, "There there sweetie~ Papa's sorry he hasn't been there with you. Look at you! All dulled and silver… you should be bright red with the blood of humans!" I said, pouting a bit before I gently ran a hand up my blade. I reached up, flexing out my tongue and licking along the side of my blade. I crouched, a shiver running up my spine. "OH it's good to taste from you again!" I said, swinging my blade to try and get the excess blood off of it. I looked down, grabbing the sheath from the dead girl's corpse and sheathing my blade. I looked back over at the masked figures, seeing that only the female one had sported any kind of reaction, backing away as the head rolled towards her. I smirked, stabbing my tail down with lightning speed and skewering the head on it like a kebab. I held it up, making the girl face me. "You were pretty… now you're _beautiful~_ " I said, moving my stinger back and tossing the girl's head away.

"He's perfect… you're gear is in the next room. I'll lead you there." the bull masked one said, walking ahead of me. I just held my blade by the sheath, walking forwards with him. I looked around, frowning at the room around me. It was so plain, so drab, so _boring_. Like everything else around here. I smirked, " _I know you hate this place sweetie, but papa's gonna make everything okay~ We're gonna make our own beauty in this world._ " I thought, looking back up as, for the first time in almost ten years, I saw the outside of this room.

" _We'll make our own beauty, in the red blood of our enemies~_ "

 **(a/n- switching to… you'll figure it out soon enough.)**

"Was your mission successful?"

I nodded, looking over at my superior. James Ironwood. I just nodded, moving my hair back over my head as I saw him placing a few files on the desk. He looked tired, but I didn't blame him. Keeping the world safe was a hard job. "Yes sir. My sister… I mean, the package has been delivered into safer hands." I said, stopping myself short of using emotion in my voice. In my line of work, emotion was what got people killed. He nodded, sighing as he ran a hand back through his hair. "It'd be so much easier if you hadn't left Oz…" he muttered, looking down at what looked to be a pair of spectacles. They were tinted black, and they clearly didn't belong to him. An old keepsake from a time before him. "Sir, the huntsmen stationed in Vale have reported killings. We suspect white fang involvement." I said. The White Fang, the one organization that could hold it's ground against ours. The one we sought desperately to destroy.

He nodded, his eyes hardening as he reached down, pulling out a folder and making a few notes on it, right before he handed it to me. "Funny, years ago I'd only trust my best operative with this kind of thing. Ironic I'm entrusting a seventeen year old girl with it now." he said. I just smirked at him, putting a hand on my hip as I used one of the few chances I got to break out of the 'perfect soldier' act. "I _am_ your best operative sir." I said. He chuckled, reaching beneath his desk and pulling out his pistol. He laid it down, cleaning it as I couldn't help but notice the engraving. " _De tenebris nos tueri lux_ _1_. _Our motto._ " I thought, taking the folder and walking back away. "And Schnee?" I heard him ask. I turned around, my feet planted together and my back straightening out of habit. The habits that they trained into all of the huntsmen. "Yes sir?"

"Don't let your emotions affect your mission."

I just nodded, turning away and walking out of his office without another word being spoken. I looked at the walls, seeing the familiar paintings. The battle of Fort Castle, the Menagerie campaign, and even the fall of Ghira. Every last one of them commissioned by us, for us. No outsiders would see them. I couldn't help but frown when I saw the second one. " _Campaign… looks more like a massacre._ " I thought. The painting showed huntsmen and the world's armies working together for the first and only time, finally attacking the faunus' homeland, and seemingly wiping them out of existence… completely. What the painting _didn't_ show, and what most history books wouldn't tell you, was that the people of Menagerie weren't just monsters, they were civilians. Most of them were content to stay on the island and wait out their days. Then… we came knocking on their doorstep, right after shooting their cousins full of holes.

"We want to wipe out the White Fang… but are we any better?" I muttered to myself, frowning as I saw one of the figures in the painting. It was my mother, in her younger years, before her illness had taken her. She held a fire in her eyes in that moment that I'd never seen in her around my father, and she always looked so keenly alive in the heat of battle. I looked down at the floor, looking at the file. The White Fang want to destroy humanity… but we tried to destroy the faunus. " _Guess we're getting what we gave huh mom?_ " I thought, opening the file. It was a file on Weiss's newest caretaker, one Jaune Arc. Average build, average height, blond hair, blue eyes, owned the Beacon Pet Center in downtown Vale. Accordingly he was good with animals, lived out of his store, and owned basically the only pet store in town. Of course… most of his clientele were getting killed off now. I flipped the page over, seeing a picture of him. In the picture, he was holding out his arms, in them was a little husky puppy, a collar with the name 'Ruby' printed on it. He had the biggest smile I'd seen on anyone on his face.

" _Easier to be happy when you don't know how to be afraid._ " I thought, gripping at the file's edges as I turned around, walking back towards my room. My mission was simple really, make contact as soon as possible. I read down the list, smiling slightly as I saw my cover. I was to go in as a potential employee. I was to simply be an assistant, a minimum wage worker at best. He would certainly need the help. If his file was right, he worked almost all hours of the day when he wasn't sleeping. I smiled when I looked back at the file, seeing the cover name I was to use, as well as my identity. " _Maria Long. At least I get to keep my white hair._ " I thought, hair dye was the only part of the disguising process I hated. All I had to do this time was change the color of my contacts and wear it a different way. Not that it would matter, no one knew what I looked like anyway. I walked towards my room, smiling slightly,

" _You'll be meeting me Jaune. Alot sooner than you think._ "

 **(a/n- okay,** _ **now**_ **back to Jaune's POV)**

"Can you do it?"

I asked, looking over at Weiss as I stood near the edge of the door, talking on my scroll. The man on the other side sighed, and if I was right, he'd be shaking his head right about now. "Asking me to make something like this on such short notice… oh well, it'll be easy. Sure." I heard him say. I had to stop myself from letting out a sigh of relief as I walked over to Weiss, picking her up as she held up her arms. I balanced her in one hand as I held the phone with the other. "Thank you _so_ much. This is the last time, I promise." I said, smiling slightly as I felt my face flush with relief. If he'd refused my offer, I'd have had to build the little contraption myself, and _that_ wouldn't end well. As Ren could tell you, I wasn't the _best_ at creating things. "Don't mention it Jaune. I'll have it done and installed by one o'clock, but I expect an explanation for why you need a crib of all things." he said. I felt my muscles go rigid as he said that, but before I could do much, I felt the phone get wrenched from my hand. I looked over, seeing Weiss holding it.

"GAH GO WAH GO!"

"UHH YOU'RE BREAKING UP GOT TO GO!"

I quickly yelled, making some fake static noises to try and throw him off before I shut off the phone, tossing it behind me before I looked at Weiss. She just let out more giggles, waving her arms up at me. I sighed, cradling her in my arms again as I sat down on the bed, leaning against the wall. It was noon right now, but I wouldn't be surprised if he could pull it off by one. He _was_ one of the most skilled carpenter's I knew in Vale, possibly in all of remnant. I smiled down at Weiss, moving my hand up and tickling her. She squirmed in my arms, laughing as she curled her arms up like most babies did. I stopped after a minute, cradling her again. "Don't worry, soon you won't have to be back here all the time." I muttered, smiling as the little girl started calming down. I'd only had her three days, but already I was starting to understand how having her only stay in the back was going to be a problem.

I'd had a close call with a customer when Weiss started crying and I had to go back. Thankfully it was the blind guy that normally came by here and not his girlfriend. She'd have seen Weiss and told the whole town I now had a kid to take care of. I'd made up an excuse about it being some kind of alarm and, amazingly, he bought it. I was going to be more careful from now on though. This way, if Weiss needed attention, I could do it without having to go into the backroom. No one came behind the counter anyway. I stood up, walking towards Weiss's crib when I heard what sounded like a knock on the back door. I sighed, setting her down in her crib before I walked over. I walked out of my bedroom and over to a door with a neon exit sign over it, opposite the adoption center. When I opened it, I looked up, smiling at the giant in front of me.

He was seven feet tall, also one of the _tallest_ people I knew in Vale. He already had what looked like a tool belt and fair bit of material with him. Strangely, he also had what looked to be a cage in his right hand. "Hey Yatsuhashi. Before you do anything, this has to stay _completely_ between us, okay? You can't tell Fox, you can't tell your friends, and you _certainly_ can't tell Coco, okay?" I asked, smiling and hoping he would accept. He sighed, walking in and laying the tools across from him, setting down the cage near me. I looked in, smiling as I saw the familiar brown rabbit coming out of her little home inside. "Got it. Watch Velvet for me while I'm working would you? Bring the animals inside." he said, jerking a thumb behind him at my bedroom door. I nodded, smiling at him as I whistled. Pyrrha and Yang both bounded over, both sniffing at the cage as Velvet just cowered away from them. Even for a rabbit she was shy.

I walked back in the bedroom, shutting the door behind me as Yang and Pyrrha both went over to Ruby's cage, where Ruby herself was absent. Instead she was just seemingly in a staredown with Weiss, both of them regarding each other with unblinking eyes. Then, Ruby broke, looking at me when she saw the rabbit cage. She started barking as she dashed towards me, clawing up at Velvet, who again just cowered away. I smiled as I leaned down, picking Ruby up the way I normally did, something I'd neglected to do for awhile thanks to Weiss. Now I had _two_ babies to take care of I guess. One human, one not. I set the cage down on the nightstand, Velvet cowering as far from the entrance as she always did. I walked over to Weiss, holding her in one arm and Ruby in the other. Then I set back on the bed, laying Ruby on my lap and petting her with one hand while I rocked Weiss with my other.

It went on that way for quite awhile, until I heard it. I felt my heart nearly stop when the door suddenly opened, "Jaune how big… oh." Yatsuhashi said, looking down at the baby in my arm. I moved my arms around to completely hold her as I looked at him. "Um…" I didn't try saying 'I can explain', since I knew he already knew. I had a baby to look after, and he was building her crib. Instead, he just sighed, turning around and walking back out to the front. "Least I know how big to make it now." he said, shutting the door behind him. I just say there for a moment, still looking after the door until I felt Weiss grab at my face, dragging me back into reality. I looked down, smiling at her as I cradled her in both hands. Then I realized just how wet her diaper was. "Guess you need a change." I said, smiling slightly as I grabbed Ruby, laying her on the floor as I walked into the bathroom to change Weiss into a clean diaper.

When I walked back out, I noticed that Yatsuhashi was standing there, cradling Velvet in his arms like I was Weiss. He nodded towards me, giving me a rare smile. "The crib's done to your specifications. You should be able to keep her there during the day… and here." he said, reaching into his pocket and tossing something at me. I just shut my eyes as I felt the small object bounce off my face, falling onto Weiss. When I looked down, I saw she was holding what looked to be a little stuffed bear. When I looked up, he just nodded, "Might do her good to have a little friend." he said. Then he turned around, walking out the door past Pyrrha and Yang as Ruby barked at his heels the whole time. When the door shut, I just looked down, seeing Weiss wrapping her little arms around the tiny bear, hugging it too her as she made more of those adorable baby giggles.

After a few minutes I stood, walking out towards the front with Pyrrha and Yang in tow, Ruby hanging off of Yang's back like I'd have expected her too. When I walked in, I saw exactly what I'd hoped for. It was what looked to be a filing cabinet from the outside, with a few drawers built into the sides as was normal. Though, when I opened it, I found it was anything _but_ ordinary. Inside was a sort of white cloth, made to be comfortable and easy to lay a baby down in. When I set Weiss down, she immediately smiled, moving her arms along the sides of it. I reached lower, pulling the other drawers to find them to be regular, used to store things I guessed. Maybe diapers and the formula I kept buying. I shut them, picking Weiss back up. I smiled down at her, and she seemed to smile back, her little teeth showing behind her lips. " _At least I don't have to worry about her teething._ " I thought.

 **(a/n- switching POV again.)**

I set down my binoculars, nodding to myself as I saw Jaune lay the little girl in the crib next to him. "He's taking good care of her it seems." I muttered, speaking to no one in particular as I stood up. I looked down at the stores roof from where I was standing, no skylights, no vents, nothing I could use to get in. Good. It meant anyone coming after Weiss would have to go through the front door and the guard dog. "Don't move." I heard from behind me. I sighed, holding up my hands as I slowly turned around, feeling the gun at my waist and the six inch dagger on my forearm. I saw a man standing there, his eyes cold and a rifle pointed at me. He had the mark on his arm, one of two axes crossing each other.

A huntsmen.

I took a step back, smiling slightly towards him as I tried to play it cool. "You up here bird watching too?" I asked, gesturing towards my binoculars. He didn't seem amused, glaring at me as he flicked off the safety on his rifle. "Cut the crap bitch. I know you're one of those White Fang faunus bastards." he said, aiming down the sight at me. I couldn't help but let out a giggle at that one. He seemed confused, lowering his rifle slightly as he raised an eyebrow. "You haven't done your homework have you? I haven't been in the White Fang since the fall of Ghira. Though, you did get one thing right." I said, smirking slightly. I rushed forwards, him firing a few silenced bullets at me as I flipped over them, landing right next to him. I reached over, punching him in the stomach as I reached up, flicking a switch and taking the magazine from his rifle with the other. I tossed it behind me, off the roof, as I jumped back, reaching up and pulling off my black bow, exposing my secret to the man.

"I _am_ a faunus."

He reached at his side, pulling out a knife and rushing at me. I just waited, standing at the ready. When he was close enough, I reached up, grabbing his wrist with one hand before I jabbed him in the stomach with my elbow, forcing his knife above his head. Then I kicked off the ground, jumping up before I wrapped my legs around his neck, forcing him to the ground with the sudden imbalance of weight. I grabbed his knife, tossing it off the roof before I pulled out my own, holding it to his face as I squeezed my thighs together, choking him. "Who… are you?" he asked as I saw his face turning red, struggling for air. I relented, standing up before I grabbed his shoulders, hoisting him up. When he looked down, his eyes widened. Probably considering I was holding him right over the edge of a five story building.

"The name's Blake Belladonna. Ghira's daughter"

Then I let go, watching as the man fell down, landing, appropriately, onto a dumpster. When I looked down, I saw him slowly moving. He'd survive… maybe. " _Not that it's really my problem. He would've killed me._ " I thought as I tossed my hair back over my shoulders, striding over to the edge of the roof and picking up my binoculars. When I leaned down and looked through them though, it seemed the store was deserted. Jaune must've gone back to the bedroom with Weiss when I was dealing with the huntsman. I turned around, walking back towards the building entrance as I hastily re-tied my bow. Didn't want the world to figure out faunus still existed right? I walked in through the door, heading down the stairs until I came upon another door, as well as a small duffle bag. I grabbed it, opening it to find it had my normal clothes inside of it. What I was wearing at the moment was more suited for recon than blending in.

I looked through the window at the door, feeling heat creeping up to my face as I reached behind me, pulling back on the zipper. When I got it all the way down to just above my rear, I simply stepped out, blushing a bit as I looked out the window, making sure no one was about to walk in and see me naked. " _I know it's easier to switch into my animal state in this thing but man it's embarrassing!_ " I thought as I reached down, grabbing out my actual clothes from the bag. I dressed quickly, pulling on the underwear, skinny jeans, bra, simple black t-shirt, and then at last my belt. I stored away my weapons in the outer compartments of the bag, just in case, and then put the jumpsuit in the larger part. When I slung it over my shoulder and walked out, binoculars around my neck still, I just looked like an average sight seer in Vale, maybe a bird watcher too at that rate. I reached down, pulling out my scroll and looking through my list of disguises, seeing which would best suit me for my next task. " _Hmm… girl next door look. That could work._ " I thought with a small smile as I laid it back in my pocket.

" _Looks like I'm getting a job if I want to keep watching Weiss._ "

1: This roughly translates to "From shadows we protect the light", for those of you that were wonder and/or actually cared.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five: Candidates and Crooks

I reached up, placing the old 'help wanted' sign on the front of the door. It was becoming _incredibly_ obvious that I would need more help around here soon enough. The animals needed more constant attention, Weiss required a lot of mine, and I wasn't spending as much time with the pets as I needed too. I looked back, thinking about Weiss in that little filing cabinet/crib Yatsuhashi built, and I just smiled. " _Hopefully I can keep you hidden during all this._ " I thought. It'd only been a week since he'd built it, but I already knew it was a good idea asking him to. I didn't have to go into the backroom now to check on Weiss, I could just look down at her. Worst case scenario I could always shut the drawer her crib was in and hide her for a few moments. There were air holes in it, so that wasn't the problem. I just didn't want her to be cooped up inside of it all day.

I flipped the closed sign to open before I walked over behind the counter, sitting down in the stool I'd moved behind it. Pyrrha was lying near the entrance, like always, with Yang laying down at her side. I saw Ruby dash over, bounding up into my lap as I smiled down at her, rubbing behind her ears. Then I reached over, grabbing out the giggling Weiss from her crib. I held her in my arms, deep blue eyes meeting icy blue one's. "Did you sleep well?" I asked quietly, smiling down at her. She just let go of her bear, making little grabbing motions towards me. I reached a finger down, gently running it down her stomach as she giggled. I snapped out of it and slowly laid her back in her crib with her bear as I heard the door chime. When I looked up, I saw two women walking towards me. Both of them looked rather… familiar.

One of them was dressed in a simple, long sleeve black shirt, skinny jeans stretching down to her ankles and simple black shoes. She had long, black hair, her eyes piercing amber and a little black bow on top of her head. " _Isn't that the woman from the store the day I found Weiss?_ " I thought to myself. Then I looked at the other woman, finding that, while I'd never seen her before, I could easily see Weiss growing up to look like her. She had long, white hair, pulled back into a ponytail behind her head. She was dressed in a light blue cashmere sweater, with a pair of looser jeans than the other girl. She also had on what looked to be brown boots. Both walked up to the counter, and both laid down a piece of paper on it.

"I'm here about the job."

The two of them looked at one another, seeming surprised. Both of them had spoken in unison, both of them here about the job I'd _just_ put out. I found it odd that they were both already carrying resumes. What? Did they have them just in case a job suddenly revealed itself and they were nearby? I reached up, picking up both of the resumes and reading over them. The white haired girl's was the first one I grabbed. " _Maria Long. Seventeen, prior experience working as a park ranger huh? Okay, has some decent references too._ " I thought. Then I grabbed the other girls. Hers wasn't as nicely formatted, but it _was_ a fair bit longer than the other's. " _Blake Belladonna. Seventeen, prior experience working with animals as a vet's assistant huh? Okay, I could see why that would be useful to have around the place._ " I thought.

When I looked up, I saw the two women glaring at one another, and if it were a cartoon I could honestly imagine a beam of electricity going between their foreheads. "What're you doing here?" Maria asked, looking down slightly towards the shorter Blake. Said girl glared right back, taking a step closer. "The same thing you are, applying for a job. One I plan to get." she said. I could tell they were both gritting their teeth. I held up my hands, standing up as I laid Ruby on the counter, grabbing their resumes before I waved my hands slightly. "Girls girls! Calm down! I don't want Pyrrha to think you're a threat." I said. As soon as I said it Pyrrha's head shot up from the ground, her walking over and growling towards the two girls. Blake stepped back, her face paling, and Maria did the same, her eyes widening a bit.

I saw Yang get up as well, heading towards Blake and nudging against her hand. When Blake looked down, she just smiled, gently running her hand through Yang's fur. "Hey there girl." she said softly, leaning down and petting Yang almost like I would. Yang seemed to like her. When I looked back, I saw Ruby barking up at Maria, who just smiled. "Well aren't you just the cutest little thing~" she said, smiling as she picked up Ruby, cradling and petting her. Ruby seemed to like Maria. Now, normally when it came to people I trusted my own judgement, as well as the judgement of my animals. Though, whereas Pyrrha didn't like either of them, Yang liked Blake and Ruby liked Maria, it seemed as if it was up to me this time around. I didn't get a _good_ vibe off of either of them, but neither seemed to be better than the other.

I stood, placing my hands on the counter. "Look, leave the resumes here and I'll get back to you. I'll… look into this as well as I can." I said, hoping to avoid an all out brawl in the middle of my store. It would be bad for business. Blake nodded, standing back up before she reached down, rubbing behind Yang's ear. Maria, on the other hand, set Ruby on the counter, smiling over at her. "Bye little puppy!" she said, turning around and walking away. Blake, on the other hand, kept petting behind Yang's ear for a beat longer. Then she stood, smiling down at the dhole. "Don't worry, I'll be back." she said. She was confident, that was for sure. Maria did seem to have a more sociable personality though. I sighed once the two of them left, the doors shutting as I looked down at Ruby, who had taken up residence in my lap once again.

"One seems better with animals, one seems better with people… what should I do?" I muttered to myself, looking towards my pets as I hoped one of them could give me an answer. Pyrrha just laid back down, sitting her face on her paws as Yang slid up next to her, laying the same way next to the larger dog. Ruby laid in my lap, rubbing against my stomach as I pet her. I sighed as I reached over picking up Weiss and cradling her in my arms. "You have an answer for me Weiss?" I asked, smiling slightly as Weiss just curled up to her little stuffed bear. I knew she wouldn't answer, so I just sat there, watching her as I pet Ruby with my other hand… until an idea hit me. " _What if I give both of them a chance? Set them on a trial run and see which one does better? Yeah… yeah that could work._ " I thought to myself as I laid the resumes down in the filing cabinet that housed Weiss's crib, nestling them right next to the bottles of formula I'd gotten.

The rest of the day seemed to fly by, alternating between feeding, changing, and cradling Weiss to dealing the customers, and of course dealing with the animals in the adoption center when it neared time to close. When it neared night-time, I stood, leaving Weiss in her crib as I walked over to the door, flipping the closed sign over, taking down the help wanted sign for the moment, and then of course locking the door. I set the sign off to the right before I saw someone knocking on the glass. I looked over, seeing it was a man I'd never seen walk in before. I unlocked the door, smiling at him. "Welcome to the Beacon pet center! We were about to close but, I suppose I can help you before we do." I said. The next thing I knew I felt a sharp pain against my cheek. I fell to the ground, and felt a stinging and cold presence against my neck. I gulped as I looked down, seeing a blade to my neck, a gun in the man's other hand, aimed at Pyrrha. "Call your animals off or you all die." he said. The gun was shaking, he was afraid of Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha, heel." I said. Pyrrha growled at the man, but didn't rush him. Yang didn't either, with Ruby just behind the counter. I felt the man guide me, slowly standing me up as he pointed his gun at the back of my head, his knife moving away from my neck. "Go over to the cash register." he said. I complied, slowly walking over there as I tried to think of a way out of this. I didn't have my blade on me, and the gun was still behind the register. I couldn't really call the cops either. When I got behind the counter, I moved myself so that I was at _least_ between the gun and Weiss. The man wouldn't see her if I could help it. I walked over to the counter, "Now give me the money!" the man said, glaring at me. When I looked, I noticed a strange fear in his eyes. He didn't _look_ like the robbing type really. It seemed like he was desperate. I slowly opened the register, only to feel his gun prod the back of my head. "I said GIVE ME THE MONEY!" he yelled.

"THIS IS THE POLICE! COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!"

The man moved around, pulling my arms behind my back and pointing the gun at the side of my head. I tried to remain calm about it, but inside I was panicking. He didn't move an inch, his eyes focused on the sirens and cop cars that were right outside. " _How did they get here so fast?_ " I thought. I didn't even _call_ the cops yet they got here. The alarm hadn't been set or tripped yet, so it didn't make any sense that they would have _known_ he was here. I felt the gun nearly jammed into my skull as the man shouted. "I'LL KILL 'EM! I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL DO IT!" he yelled. I saw the police officers walk forwards, into the store, guns drawn and aimed at the man. The man's eyes widened as I felt myself pushed down slightly, pressing against the glass counter. "THAT'S CLOSE ENOUGH!" he yelled. The cops stopped, standing still just a few feet from the counter, the four of them aiming at me and the criminal behind me.

"Sir, please. Put the gun down." one of the officers, this one female, said, slowly holstering her own pistol and walking forwards. The man moved the gun away from my head for a split second. "GAH!" and that's when Pyrrha struck. I dove to the floor as I saw Pyrrha biting the man's elbow, keeping him from shooting. I heard what sounded like men (and women) rushing forwards. The man fell to the ground, convulsing as the officers swarmed. Tasered. I looked over, smiling slightly when I saw that Weiss's crib was closed. I saw the man get handcuffed as two of the officers moved him out away from me. The female officer that had spoken held out a hand, "Are you alright sir?" she asked. I nodded, taking her hand and pulling myself up. I dusted myself off as I pet behind Pyrrha's ear, knowing that she and the officers had likely saved my life. "Thanks to you and Pyrrha I am." I said, smiling slightly at her.

She looked down, smiling at my pet. "One helluva guard you got there." she said, no doubt seeing Pyrrha's teeth. I nodded, then I looked over at the door to my room, finding it was cracked open. I hadn't done that, I _knew_ I hadn't. "How did you know he was here?" I asked, looking over at the other officers as they handcuffed the man. She nodded to me, "We got a call from someone saying they saw Jaune getting held up at gunpoint at the BPC. Guessing that's you." she said, lightly flicking my name tag. I nodded, letting out a slightly nervous laugh as I rubbed the back of my neck. "Good to know. Thank's for saving me miss…" I said, leaving it hanging. She gave me a curt nod before she started walking away, and I actually got a good look at her. She had bright green hair that seemed to stick up every direction, with similarly colored eyes. Her skin was pale, maybe a bit more tan than mine though. She just nodded, holding out a hand to me. "Officer Chloris Mr. Arc. Have a nice night now." she said. I shook her hand before she walked away with the other officers, escorting the would-be robber to their cruisers.

I waited a few minutes, until I saw the officers driving down the road, before I moved, walking back over to the door and locking it, setting the alarm this time. I didn't want two burglary attempts in one night. Then I shut off the lights, heading towards the back room. I picked up Weiss, cradling her as I slowly pushed open the door. When I did open it, I noticed that Ruby was lying down in the middle of the room, my scroll sitting right in front of her. She let out a little bark as I walked over, setting Weiss down in her little crib. "Did you call the cops girl?" I asked, not really believing it. Sure enough, when I checked over my scrolls call history I saw no calls, outgoing or incoming. I rubbed behind Ruby's head, pulling her into my arms before I walked back out into the main room. "Bed time girls." I said, smiling at them. Yang walked over to her own cage as Pyrrha laid down on her dog bed. I locked Yang's cage, knowing that Ruby would open it in the morning like she always seemed to. " _Maybe Ren had a point about you, you are really smart of a puppy… nah._ " I thought, smiling down at Ruby as I rubbed behind her ear.

What was I thinking? Ruby, a faunus? As if. I laid her down on the ground, her walking over and laying down in her own cage as I shut the door. I looked over at Weiss, smiling when I found her sleeping soundly, cuddling up to her stuffed bear. Then I stripped off my own clothes, down to my boxers as always, and fell back in bed, glad to sleep after a surprisingly eventful day.

 **(a/n- … you get the idea.)**

I heard the high pitched barking as I opened my eyes, quickly shifting into my human state as I opened Yang's cage. She walked out, changing into her human form and quickly flipping her hair back over her shoulders. "How'd that guy's elbow taste huh Pyrrha?" Yang asked, giving me a familiar smirk as she hopped up onto the counter, something she normally didn't do. I just shrugged, giving her a slight smile, "Tasted like polyester. I only tasted his clothes, not his _blood_ Yang." I said. Yang just shrugged, walking over and wrapping an arm around my shoulder, pulling me towards the familiar back room where Ruby was barking her head off.

When we walked in we found Ruby quiet, pulling the lock open to her cage and getting out herself for a change. Normally she just waited on me to open it for her, so she must have been _incredibly_ impatient. When she got out, morphing into her human form as she always did, she was smiling over at us. "Ruby… did you call the cops?" Yang asked, looking over at her little sister. Ruby looked away from her, gazing at the sleeping Jaune's scroll for a few seconds with a somewhat guilty look on her face. "Ummm… no?" she said, giving what was likely the _least_ convincing smile I'd ever seen her give… and she'd given _a lot_ of unconvincing smiles over the past few months. "Ruby… did you at _least_ delete the call from his scroll?" Yang asked.

Ruby nodded, smiling at her sister and shutting her eyes, her tail wagging back and forth. "Yep! He was none the wiser!" she said, opening her eyes and looking back at Jaune. Thankfully she managed to keep her excitement _semi_ quiet. I heard what sounded like soft crying and looked over, seeing Weiss starting to move around. Ruby frowned, her tail going lower. "I may as well go back in my cage tonight…" She said, crouching down. I frowned towards her, but then my expression hardened. I walked over to Weiss, slowly lifting her up and feeling her diaper. She wasn't soaked and she didn't have a mess, she didn't even seem awake. " _Nightmares huh?_ " I thought as I cradled her against my chest, leaning down. I whispered into her ear, meaningless sounds meant to calm the troubled child.

It seemed to work, as after I did so she slowly started to calm down, laying against my chest and drifting back into a peaceful sleep. I smiled down at the little girl before I crouched, gently laying her back in her crib. "Ruby, I know how much you've missed it. You can sleep with Jaune tonight." I said, smiling over at her. She nearly squealed, rushing over and wrapping her arms around me. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she said, nuzzling her head into my chest. Without a second to spare she dashed over, gently crawling behind Jaune and nuzzling into his back like she always did. I saw Jaune unconsciously move over, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. Ruby's face was red, which was normal for her, but I also saw her tail seeming to wag. I guess she missed it more than I thought.

Yang walked over, placing a hand on my shoulder and smiling at me, "Hey… thanks Pyrrha." she said, giving me a little smile. I looked away from her, my face tinted slightly red at the compliment. "It was nothing really. Ruby hasn't slept with Jaune in awhile, she deserves to at _least_ once." I said, looking back towards the baby in the crib. My eyes widened as I held back a yelp, feeling Yang somewhat roughly grab my tail. I looked back, seeing Yang smiling at me as she set on the floor, pulling on my tail. To keep from actual pain happening to me I just followed her, until I felt her drag me to the floor. "Yang, what're yoooooaaaah." I said, feeling my muscles relax as Yang's hand trailed down my tail. I laid down, content to just sit there as Yang pet me with one hand, her other hand moving around on my back. "This is my way of saying thanks, I know you like it when I pet your tail~" she said, smirking down at me.

I turned around, feeling my face flush slightly. I never understood how Yang could make something so innocent and comforting feel like something so perverted and dirty. It was almost as if when we were eating dog food she would _somehow_ manage to make me blush just by the way she ate it. " _She's really good at this… then again, maybe this is how she calmed Ruby down._ " I thought, feeling Yang's hands trailing up and down my tail, her using both now. If what I gathered from Yang was right, both she and Ruby had nightmares, Ruby more often, so both of them would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night in a panic. Ruby showed me how she could calm Yang and, sometimes, even _Nora_ down just by petting their ears. She'd even shown me how to do it. Of course, Yang was showing me right now how skilled she was at peting faunus tails to calm them down.

"Now I know why Jaune doesn't pet you as often, one pull on your tail and you're as helpless as a pup~" she said, smirking down at me again. I felt my face flush as bright as my hair as I just buried it in the carpet. Honestly the way she was talking I wouldn't be surprised if she leaned down and started kissing my neck next. " _You wouldn't mind that though, would you?_ " I heard a voice in my head say. I blushed brighter, trying to ignore it and keep Yang from seeing my rosy cheeks. I was rather familiar with that voice, and if Yang's old stories were right, almost all faunus were. Two sides to every coin I guessed, our human half, and our 'wild side'. The wild side was instinct, the human side was reasoning. Yang had said that she'd nearly been exposed when she 'gave into the wild side' when she saw some really handsome human.

" _Just don't think about it. Think about anything but the hot, naked blonde chick rubbing your tail, don't think about how her soft, beautiful… NO! BAD BRAIN!"_ I yelled at myself, trying to keep the voice at bay as I suddenly became _very_ aware of Yang's body against mine. She was hot, temperature wise anyway. Her skin seemed hotter than normal, it was comforting almost, the reason we always tended to sleep in the same dog bed. In the cold of the store, she was the closest thing to a heated blanket I had. I was saved from further awkwardness when I heard Weiss started to cry again. Yang stopped petting my tail, and I quickly stood, looking back at her with a flushed face. I found that hers wasn't flushed, but she had a strange look of disappointment on her face. Though I could've imagined it, as it was gone a second later when she stood, walking over the the crying kid.

I picked Weiss up, cradling her as I did a diaper check. Her front felt warmer than normal, as well as squishy. I looked back at Yang, "She needs a diaper change." I whispered, looking over at her. Her eyes widened as she walked into the bathroom, with me following behind. She shut the door, quickly stuffing a towel beneath the door crack as to minimize the amount of noise we made. I looked over at her, "Do you know how to change a baby's diaper?" "I thought _you_ knew!" Yang said, looking up at me. I looked down at the baby in my arms, sighing as I laid her on the table. Yang grabbed the baby supplies, setting them on the nearby counter as I undid Weiss's little blue onesie that Jaune had bought just yesterday, quickly laying it to the side as I undid her diaper I pulled it aside, grabbing some wipes and gently running them along her privates, the way I'd seen Jaune do it.

"Now what?" Yang said, looking over at the clean but still naked baby in front of us. I shrugged, grabbing the diapers and the strange powder. It was usually at this point that I couldn't see what Jaune was doing, as he'd notice my head on the counter and shoo me back outside the room. I looked down at the diaper, finding that there were defined seams within it. I took a wild guess and laid Weiss down on the diaper, powdering her rear as I guessed Jaune did. Then I reached down, sealing up the diaper around the little girl. When I looked down, I found that she had opened her eyes, gazing up at me in what I guessed was wonder. I picked her up, gently fitting her back into the little onesie before I cradled her in my arms again, smiling down at her. "You're okay Weiss, now go back to sleep." I said simply, putting on a motherly tone to my voice.

I laid Weiss back in her crib, and nearly jumped up when I felt Yang slap my lower back, just above my tail. Thankfully she hadn't slapped it, as doing so would've been _ridiculously_ painful for me. She smiled at me, grabbing my hand, "I think you'll make a great mother Pyrrha." she said, patting a hand on my stomach. I felt my own face blush as, for a brief second, I saw me and Yang standing together, a little girl with orange hair, dhole ears and a dog tail standing between us, my stomach slightly inflated. I shook my head, getting the image out of my head. " _That's not possible anyway, we're both girls._ " I thought to myself. Still, even the biologically impossible nature of them didn't stop the strange visions as I followed Yang back outside the room, heading back in front of the counter. Yang laid down first this time, smirking up at me. "You coming?" She asked, patting the bed behind her.

I tried to keep from blushing as I complied, getting in bed behind her and curling around her, letting my tail slip between her legs. "Mind moving that tail up a little?" she asked, looking back at me. I raised my eyebrows, but complied anyway, blushing bright red as I realized that her hands clasped my tail, pulling it up as far as it would go, right between her legs. I moved my hands back over her, but she surprisingly took them in hers this time, pulling them over her breasts. "I'm just gonna cut out the middleman and leave your breasts there early on. You can't keep your hands off me in your sleep anyway." she said, smirking back at me as I buried my face in her hair, trying to keep that 'wild side' voice at bay. Right now it was almost shouting at me. The words it was saying… no I didn't want to think about them. Only one thought ran through my head as Yang grabbed my hands, curling into her normal fetal position.

" _It's gonna be a long night isn't it?_ "


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six: Who's who?

"PLEASE! NO! DO-!"

I smirked as I moved my blade across the man's throat, my beauty carving easily through his fragile flesh as my tail kept pumping potent poisons into his wife, keeping her sedated. She was still alive, but all she could do was watch as I killed her husband. I let out a little laugh as I swung my blade around, licking the blood off of it. I smiled, "You're already looking thirty years younger beautiful~" I said, seeing the red blood, what I hadn't licked off anyway, carving flows of red into the tarnished steel of my precious blade. I looked over, seeing a small dog looking at me. I could sense the disbelief, I could tell what it was. A little faunus. "Show them your true nature, she can't stop you anymore~" I said, giving an insane smirk towards the little… chihuahua if I had to guess the breed.

The little dog complied, closing her eyes as her 'master's' eyes widened. I kept her paralyzed until the little dog became a little girl, almost as tall as my waist, with the dog ears and brown hair she had in her dog state. Her face was horrified, "Why… why did you hurt them?" "I got bored." I replied, causing her little faunus eyes to widen even more. I looked back, taking my tail out from the woman as she slumped over, splayed out on the floor in her nightgown, like her husband was in his pajamas. I gently set my blade on the ground, kicking her over to the little faunus girl. " _Sorry sweetie…_ " I thought with a frown as the girl looked down, seeing my blade resting at her feet. "One of you is going to die. You decide who it is. Will you kill yourself and save this wretched whore? Or will you do the world a favor and end her life? I'm giving you ten seconds, or I'm killing you both~" I said, giving her an insane smirk as I stepped back, standing on the dead husband's chest.

The woman was trying to move, her chest moving up and down as her panicked eyes met the little faunus's. "Ten." I said. The girl looked at the blade, seeing herself reflected in my babies bloody lense. She was thinking about it. "Nine." She slowly walked over to the whore, her hands shaking as she looked down at the woman. "Eight." The woman was crying now, silent tears slipping down her face as she opened her mouth, trying desperately to fight through the poison and speak. "Seven." The girl was shaking wildly, my baby shaking and throwing beams of light everywhere as I crouched down, ready to pounce. This was normally when they'd try and play hero if they were weak. "Six." The girl slowly set the blade down, the woman's eyes focused on it, being as it was only a few inches from her face. "Five." I looked down, giggling as I saw that the woman's white nightgown was suddenly yellowed towards the front. She was good and terrified now. "Four." I saw tears coming from the girl's eyes as she shook. "Please… please don't make me kill her…"

"Three." I said, smiling as I showed her I had no intention of listening to her pleas. She would kill that human, or herself, or I would kill both. "Two." the girl slowly shut her eyes, taking a few breaths as I felt disappointment setting in. She was going to kill herself, the blade was ready to slice her open. "One." "I'M SORRY!" I froze as I saw the girl swing down, striking against the human's neck over and over, making messy cuts. The woman was spitting out blood for a few seconds before she stopped, lying still against the ground. The girl kept hitting her, using my poor blade like a baseball bat. I just let her, knowing better than to interrupt someone while they were wildly swinging a blade. After a minute she stopped, tears streaming down her face as she looked down at the mess she'd made. It _was_ a mess, there were no patterns, no elegant blood flows, only wild strikes… it did make a kind of ironic beauty though.

"What are you douuuuuh." the girl said, falling to the ground as I gently prodded her rear with my stinger. Her eyes shut as she fell, her breath steadying as I grabbed my blade. I walked over to the human woman, making one quick slice across her throat, trying to correct the work that the little faunus had done. " _No fixing this mess… oh well._ " I thought as I picked up the small girl, swinging her over my shoulder as I sheathed my blade, wrapping my tail around my waist so it looked to be a belt. I started humming as I walked out of the small, country home. I looked off in the distance, seeing the city lights as I smirked, "One, two, I'm coming for you. Three, four, lock the doors." I started softly singing, slowly walking towards the city in the distance. I'd drop the girl off with the White Fang, they'd make a decent home for her. I started laughing to myself as I envisioned my target, Weiss Schnee, the little toddler. If she was anything like her mother or her father, she'd have white hair, white skin, and blue eyes.

"A blank canvas I can paint red… I can hardly wait~"

"Are you sure it was her sir?"

I looked down at the man sitting in his chair, the cane, gray hair, and small ovular glasses giving away who it was rather easily. He just slowly nodded, his eyes taking on a much more serious tone as he sipped at his coffee mug. "Yes… the name isn't the same, but you've described a woman that has the exact resemblance to the Pale Lady." he said. I slowly nodded, still finding it hard to believe that that woman that had wanted to compete with me for a job at the Beacon Pet Center was the legendary 'Pale Lady'. "What do I do?" I asked, shrugging slightly as I sat down, feeling as if this conversation would take awhile. I reached up, lightly tugging on my bow, not enough to undo it of course, but enough that it gave my hand something to focus on. "You wait… he'll give you a call soon enough, when he does, you answer like nothing is wrong. This 'Maria Long', or whatever name she's using this time, doesn't know who or what you are. She has no reason to suspect you, just play your role." he said. Sure enough, not a minute after he'd said it, I got a call. I reached down, fishing around in my pocket for my scroll as I held it up. "Hello?"

"Hello? Is this Blake Belladonna?"

I felt my eyes widen that Ozpin had guessed what would happen so correctly, but I nodded regardless, "Yes, this is she." "Good, I've been trying to get ahold of you for awhile now but I couldn't get through. Anyway, I'm calling about the job." I heard him say. No wonder he couldn't get through to me. When you were separated by fifty feet of concrete and rock, it was hard to reach someone via scroll. "Did I get the job?" "Well… not exactly. I want you coming in for work tomorrow, we open at six. Consider it a… trial run. If all goes well… then we'll talk more." he said. I looked up, seeing Ozpin nodding and smiling slightly towards me. I fought back a sigh of a relief as I looked down, committing the scroll number, likely Jaune's personal one, to memory as quickly as I could before I spoke. "Okay… I look forward to working with you Mr. Arc." "Please, just call me Jaune." I heard him say.

I nodded, "Alright, Jaune. I'll be there tomorrow. Goodbye." "Goodbye." Jaune echoed as the line went dead. I moved my scroll back around in front of me, quickly typing in the number and saving it as Jaune Arc. I looked up at Ozpin, who just smiled at me. "Here's your directive Blake. Not that you'll need it I'm sure." he said, handing me what looked to be a dark brown docket. I picked it up, nodding towards him as I stood, pushing in my hair and walking towards the door. "Shoes Blake." he said quickly as I was about to walk out the door. I looked down, seeing my socks as I felt my face flush slightly. How did I forget I had to take my shoes off every time I walked in here? I stepped back, quickly flipping my high heeled boots with my feet as I slipped them on, reaching down and buckling them before I stood, walking out the door. I heard it shut behind me as I looked off to the left. It felt strange looking out at what equated to a sewer tunnel when I was just in such a clean office. I walked forwards, reaching down and flicking the small, nearly unnoticeable lever near the bottom of the outer brick wall. I heard the grinding of gears as the walls slid back, shutting the pristine white door behind them.

I turned off to the left, heading down the old, abandoned sewer tunnel towards the manhole cover as I started thinking about what I would do. I mean, the Pale Lady was responsible for the deaths of dozens, maybe even _hundreds_ of our agents. She was one of the most well trained of the huntsmen, with reflexes that let her go toe to toe with even the most naturally advanced and highly trained faunus. " _Hope I don't have to end up fighting her… she might actually be able to beat me._ " I thought as I saw the familiar ladder that lead up into my designated retreat. We left out of different one's and entered out of different one's each time, kept the huntsmen guessing as to where we were. I started climbing up the ladder, grabbing each rusted rung with a hint of disgust. I knew we were in an abandoned sewer, but it didn't make climbing up rusty ladders any more pleasant.

I pushed open the manhole cover, looking up as I saw the starry night sky above me. I stepped out, moving the cover back behind me before I stood, brushing down my black shirt to get some of the dirt off of it. I looked around, and just started walking down the alley, heading towards my hideout. "Don't move bitch." I heard a voice say. I froze up, pretending to be scared as I held up my hands. Hopefully it was just some thug and not a huntsman. I looked behind me, fighting back a sigh of relief as I saw a man in a hoodie, holding a nailed board in his hands. There were two more next to him, each holding what looked to be rusty pipes. "Hand ove-" "Hold it Sky… we caught ourselves quite a cutie didn't we?" one of them with a rusted pipe said, and I could feel his eyes moving around my body. I stepped back, letting my face tinge red as I pretended to be embarrassed. The one with the board, Sky apparently, spoke, "I wouldn't know remember?" he said, looking towards the other guy. The other one just slowly nodded, moving his hands around a bit.

"Right, right… always forget. Anyway, what I'm saying is maybe her lien… ain't gonna cover the fee on it's own. Though… those shoes look like they'd fetch quite a price don't they?" the other one said, gesturing his pipe towards my feet. The other one, who was slightly taller than the others, decided to just put it bluntly. "Bitch strip naked and then come home with us, let's cut all the toying with her bullshit Russel." he said, looking towards the other one with the pipe. Sky just sighed, slowly shaking his head as I started slowly backing up, putting a bit of distance between myself and the arguing thugs. I could take them all if I needed to, but I'd rather avoid having to fight. "You two _always_ do this, you want to fuck every girl we hold up," he said, pointing towards Russel, "Cardin wants to just get it over with," he said, gesturing to the bigger man, "And I have to step between you before the girl gets away. See! She's doing it right now!" he said, gesturing towards me to find that I'd backed away at least five feet.

Russel sighed, "Alright fine, we'll compromise, you can take her from the front and I'll take her from the back." "That doesn't even relate to the conversation." Cardin said, glaring towards his shorter companion. Russel glared at him, jabbing him in the stomach with his pipe. I would leave but, it was almost humorous watching the three go at it. "Don't care! I want this bitch tied up and fucked every way from Sunday, are we gonna rob her and then get busy or not?!" "Not if you two keep acting like this!" Sky said, glaring between them. It seemed he was the only one that noticed I was now ten feet away, nearing the other edge of the alley. Cardin growled as he loomed over Russel, "Why do you always want to fuck anyone we rob anyway? Why not just get a girlfriend?!" "I've _got_ a girlfriend jackass! You know she won't fuck around with the likes of me… literally."

"You haven't got a girlfriend." Cardin said, gripping his pipe a bit tighter. Russel glared at him, swinging his own pipe around and hitting his palm. "You callin' me a liar?!" "I ain't callin' ya for dinner!" Cardin yelled in response as he swung at Russel, Russel ducking and tossing his pipe as I saw the two get in a fistfight. Sky just sighed, walking over to me as I stepped back. Though, he just tossed the board, walking past me and towards the street. "Uhh… what was that?" "Idiots being idiots." Sky replied to my question, walking over and sitting down on the sidewalk. I stood next to him, standing next to a lamppost and looking down over at him. He was actually rather short up close, his head only maybe coming up to my chest, his face was hidden by a hood, but even then I could tell he was a bit depressed. "You okay?" I asked, deciding to sit down, honestly not even afraid at this point. Those two were still fighting, and I could take on one person easily. He sighed, "First my mother dies, then I get put in a hellhole of an orphanage, then I run away with these two idiots and try to make a living as muggers… we couldn't even rob an old lady because those two kept argueing about the way to do it!" he said, throwing his arms up in frustration.

"So yeah, I'm _just_ fine." he said, his voice laden with sarcasm as he set his chin on his hand, looking out into the street at the cars passing. I leaned forwards, seeing a flash of pale white skin as he moved back, frowning towards the other side of the road. "You don't look like criminal type." I said. I should know, I'd seen _plenty_ of criminals in my line of work, and he didn't look like any of them… heck in the eyes of the law I _was_ a criminal. He slowly shook his head, sighing as he turned to me, exposing a pair of blue eyes. "Yeah… what choice have I got though? Not many jobs are gonna let me in when the highest education I have is in middle school. Not to mention I'm only seventeen." he said, tossing back his hood, revealing his hair to be silver. I just shrugged, leaning back against the light pole as I gave him a little smile, "Well… isn't there _something_ that you can do better than anyone else? Or that you enjoy doing?" I asked.

"Other than cultivating plants, I worked alot with botany… turns out there's no jobs in it around here though." "Why not open a flower shop?" I said. I wasn't lying either, of all the shops in Vale there actually _weren't_ any flower shops, at least, none that grew their own flowers. Most people would have to go pick them from the meadows around the city. He scoffed, "A florist? I still have my dignity woman!" "Dignity doesn't exactly put food on the table now does it?" I said, smiling slightly. He looked up, opening his mouth to speak, but then he sighed, turning away and standing up, walking off towards the left. "You make a point actually… thanks." he said, looking over his shoulder. I just smiled, waving towards him as he walked away. I couldn't help but keep smiling as I walked away, the ongoing fight between Cardin and Russel fading away behind me.

" _Never thought I'd be able to talk someone out of crime so easily…_ "

"Bark! Bark!"

I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes, seeing my vision slightly blurry as I tried looking around. I felt it on my face before I saw the little husky puppy. I chuckled as I reached over, grabbing her and sitting upright, lightly running my hands along the top of her head. "Better than an alarm clock, that's for sure." I muttered as I stood up, walking over to the still sleeping toddler across from me, laying in her own crib. I walked over to the door leading into the shop, setting Ruby down and cracking it open. "Go get your sister!" I said, watching as she skittered out of the room before I shut the door. She'd open it in a second anyway. I turned around, walking over and getting on one knee as I looked at Weiss. " _Still sleeping… probably a good thing._ " I thought as I reached over, surprised to find that, once I pulled the covers back, her diaper wasn't wet in the slightest.

I chalked it up to luck more than anything, setting her back in and tucking her in as well, walking into the bathroom to get ready for the day. When I walked out, I saw that Ruby, Yang, and Pyrrha were all sitting, right in front of the door that lead out. I looked down, smiling slightly as I heard a tiny little yawn. There, laying in her crib, I saw two little blue eyes gazing up at me, a small smile adorning the pale face of Weiss. "How're you doing?" I asked, slipping into that babyish voice I used with Ruby so often, picking her up and holding her at arm's length above me, as I'd done with other children many times. She let out a few giggles as I moved her back, cradling her in one arm and tickling her with the other. After a few seconds I set her back into my arms, walking past Yang and Pyrrha as Ruby jumped up around my legs, the five of us entering the store. I sat down on the familiar stool behind the counter, pulling open the filing cabinet drawer and gently laying Weiss in it, and maybe I just wasn't thinking, but I leaned down and planted a little kiss on her forehead. "I'll be right back okay?" I said, smiling at her.

Then I stood, walking around and restocking the shelves, taking inventory, feeding the animals, the usual things I did every morning. Strangely though, I found that my eyes kept wandering back over to the tiny bundle of white directly behind the counter, concealed from view. Every little noise and I nearly dashed over there, wondering if something was wrong, fearing the cabinet had broken. Of course, Yatsuhashi made it, and the stuff he made was built to last. I knew I was worried for nothing. I'd just finished my morning checklist when I heard a knocking on the glass door outside. I looked over, smiling slightly as I saw the familiar figure, clad in a black jacket with a white shirt beneath, a pair of skinny jeans, and the little black bow and sunglasses, walk up to the door, smiling and waving at me. I gave her a smile, waving back as I walked over, grabbing out my keys and opening the door as I always did. "You're early." "I prefer being early over being late." she said, walking in as I shut the door behind her, twisting the sign from closed to open.

" _Punctual, I like that._ " I thought, a good quality to have in an employee. At least I wouldn't have to worry about her being late anytime soon. She walked towards the counter, stopping right in front of it as Yang and Pyrrha both walked in front of her. She reached down, petting Yang with a smile. "How're you doing girl?" she asked. Yang barked in response, panting as Blake rubbed behind her ear. Yang seemed to like her, "Oh, how's your daughter by the way?" she asked, smiling back at me. I raised an eyebrow, but then my face paled as I realized what she was talking about. Weiss. She'd seen me at the supply store being baby items for her, she'd seen Weiss and me… maybe she recognized the dogs. " _Granted, if I'd known I had to keep her a secret, I wouldn't have brought them in the store._ " I thought. Not many people in Vale could say they had a husky puppy, a half-dhole half-fox, and a german shepherd that followed them around everywhere without the need of leashes. Even the puppy.

"Oh, umm… about that. She's not mine, not really. It's uh… it's complicated." I said, rubbing a hand behind my head as I tried to think of a way to explain this. She already knew who Weiss was, so I couldn't just _lie_ and pretend she didn't exist. Not to mention Yang and Pyrrha could only keep her away from the counter for so long. She raised an eyebrow, "Would you mind explaining?" "Look all I can say is that she's supposed to be a secret, I'm supposed to make sure no one knows she's here." I said, holding my hands up and hoping against hope that she wouldn't ask anymore questions. No such luck it seemed, as her expression seemed to get even more confused. "What? Is she someone important?" "I don't know alright, all I know is someone somewhere is paying me to keep her safe and hidden." I said. It was true enough, that was the reason that I could even afford a new employee in the first place, considering the large sum of lien that had been deposited, and would be for the foreseeable future, into my bank account yesterday.

Blake just nodded, smiling slightly at me. "Alright then, you're my boss, not my business." she said, holding up her hands. I was conflicted as to whether I should be relieved or confused. On one hand, I was relieved that I didn't have to reveal to her the entire Winter conversation, but I was also confused as to why she accepted it so easily. " _Well who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?_ " I thought as I smiled towards her, giving her a slight nod. "I'd uh… also appreciate it if you could keep this between us, alright? Like I said, she's kind of a secret." I said. She walked over towards me, smirking slightly as she looked towards the counter. "Well, I _do_ always keep secrets between me and my employer…" she said, looking up before rolling her eyes back to me. It was easy to tell she was blackmailing me to get the job. If I didn't give to her, what would keep her from talking about Weiss. Well if she expected me to roll over and give in so easily…

She'd be right.

"Well, I am your employer, and I'm telling you to keep this a secret." I said, giving her a small smile, hoping against hope that she was actually a good employee. She just nodded, smiling at me as she looked down at Yang and Pyrrha. "Understood. So… what now?" "I'll be organizing the storefront, do you think you can handle feeding the animals in the adoption center?" I asked, planning on doing things the way I always did, just maybe with me having to do less of the work for a change. She just nodded, walking towards the familiar door, but then she stopped, smiling at me. "I look forward to working for you Jaune." she said. The door shut behind her as I sighed, walking towards the same door, Ruby jumping around my feet. Had to be careful not to hit her. I walked in, heading to the right as I saw Blake grabbing a large bag of dogfood, the animals starting to bark as they began stirring. I turned right, heading in through a door marked 'supply room', the place I kept the rest of my inventory, provided someone actually bought something other than dog-food.

I grabbed out two boxes, as not much had been sold the past couple of days, and started walking towards the actual door. "WAAAH!" though, I hadn't counted on a piece of paper being where my foot was going to go. I shut my eyes as I felt the boxes leave my hands, likely about to crash into the floor. I braced for impact but, strangely, I didn't feel anything. I opened my eyes, feeling my face tint pink as I saw Blake standing over me. I felt one of her hands behind my neck, the other beneath my knees. I looked down, seeing that Blake had stopped both boxes from hitting the ground, balancing them on one foot, holding herself up with the other. I looked up at her, amber eyes meeting blue ones, and she smiled. "Have a nice trip?" "Yeah, I'll see you next fall." I said, smiling up at her as I managed to get a slight giggle out of her. I looked down, seeing her slowly setting the boxes down on a nearby table before standing back on her own two feet. "Uhh, can you put me down now?" I asked.

She complied, standing me upright rather quickly as I stumbled forwards, getting my bearings. She turned away, walking towards the bag of dogfood she'd seemingly abandoned to catch me… hold on, " _How did she get over here that fast? That bags almost twenty feet down the hall._ " I thought as she reached the bag, picking it up and dumping about the right amount of food into each dog's respective bowl. I watched her for a few seconds before I turned around, grabbing the boxes and heading back out into the front of the store. " _Eh, maybe she's an athlete? Would explain why she could carry me and those boxes so easily._ " I thought. Yeah… yeah that made the most sense out of the explanations I could come up with. I shut the door behind me, laying the top box on the counter and starting to restock the shelves with what I had on the bottom box, mostly leashes and collars. I hadn't restocked in awhile. I finished the box and was about to start the second one whenever I heard the familiar high pitched crying.

I set the box back on the counter and moved around, pulling the filing cabinet drawer out and quickly picking up the small, white haired girl. She quickly leaned against me, a smile forming on her face. I raised an eyebrow, slightly confused. I reached down and felt her diaper, not wet or lumpy in the slightest. Had she really just… missed me? " _No, that couldn't be it. Babies form attachments to their parents when they're younger than two years old right?_ " I thought to myself. There was no way she was so attached to me so soon, she just… she must've just been having a nightmare or something. Though, when I looked down, her eyes were wide open, and she was smiling at me. I couldn't help but smile back at the adorable little girl, a strange, warm feeling hitting my chest. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I knew I'd felt it before. Whenever I was feeding her, changing her, once even bathing her, I felt it. Why couldn't I figure out what it was?

"Sure she's not yours? You seem pretty good with her." I would've jumped if not for the child in my arms when I heard that voice. I looked up, smiling slightly in relief when I saw Blake standing there, apparently already done with feeding the dogs. Not that I was surprised, there weren't _that_ many of them. The store was only so big. "Do you need me to finish restocking the shelves?" "No, better to let me handle that much. Though… do you think you could hold Weiss for a minute?" I asked, standing up and slightly holding the young child forwards. Blake just nodded, meeting the girl's eyes. "I'd be glad to." she said, holding out her own arms. I was about to let Weiss down… but I hesitated. She'd never been held by anyone but me… no, it would be fine. Blake wouldn't be so heartless as to hurt a child, at least I hoped not. Getting over my inner struggle, I laid the girl in Blake's arms. Though, just as I walked out from around the counter, I heard Weiss's little cries again. I looked back, seeing her hands making little grabbing motions towards me. "What is it Weiss? Do you want Jaune?" Blake asked. I turned, about to just go on with my work, when one sound pierced the air, better than anything I'd ever heard before it.

"Pa-pa!"

I froze as I spun around, looking down towards Weiss, my eyes slowly widening. "Was that…" "Pa-pa!" There was no mistaking it now. Weiss was making those motions towards _me_. _I_ was the one she was calling papa. I felt that same feeling in my chest, stronger than ever. I couldn't help the smile that sprung to my face as I walked over, picking up Weiss and cradling her to my chest. She smiled right back, almost nuzzling her head into my chest. "Pa-pa!" "That's right sweetie, papa's here." I said, almost out of instinct putting a more babyish tone on it, gently rocking the girl back and forth. I saw Blake moving out of the corner of my eye, grabbing the box I'd not yet taken. "Was that her first words?" "Yeah… it was." I said, looking down towards the child in my arms. Her eyes were shut as she seemed… content, seemed to be the right word, content to just lay there against my chest. I walked back behind the counter, sitting on my stool and just smiling at the girl. I was still finding it hard to believe… that she was calling me papa. " _Don't worry Weiss,_ " I thought to myself, making a promise, right then and there.

" _Papa's here. And he always will be._ "


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven: Revelations

 **(a/n- this hasn't been a problem** _ **yet**_ **but let me clarify it right now. Not all the POV changes occur at the same time or in the same order. The one your about to read for example doesn't occur on the same night as the Jaune POV later. It's probably obvious but, I had the thought of confusion and wanted to make sure you guys understood (even though you probably did anyway). Alright, enough of that, onto the story!)**

"BOSS!"

I looked over, seeing one of my lackeys running towards me, holding his gun tight to his chest. "What is it?" I asked, slightly annoyed at him having interrupted my poker game. He was about to speak when, suddenly, I saw the lights flicker. I heard what sounded like something whistle through the air before the lights came back on, my eyes widening at what I saw. The lackey that had come to assumingly warn me about something, stood there,what looked to be a long, silver dart through his throat. I could only tell it was a dart by the small feathers on the back of it, a light blue color. I jumped back, me and the other four boys grabbing our guns as we aimed towards the darkness, looking for some kind of movement to tell us who we were fighting.

"Negreo Caress. Also known as 'The Shark'."

I turned towards where the near monotone female voice was coming from, aiming my gun towards that area, but found that there was nothing but shadows. I turned back around, my eyes widening as I saw a dart finding it's way into another one of the card game players. He fell down, dropping his gun as he accidentally fired off a few rounds, said rounds hitting the wall nearby. The rest of us tried to gather around, slowly walking towards the door. Then, the voice spoke once again.

"Allegations of first, second, and third degree murder, human trafficking, illegal gambling, drug trafficking, insurance fraud, tax evasion, grand larceny, first-degree robbery, manslaughter, money laundering, assault and battery, and statutory rape."

I felt something nick my ear as I slowly turned, seeing my left hand man fall back, one of those darts pinning him to the wall. "Show yourself!" I yelled into the darkness, my right hand man and I backing up towards the door. "FUCK THIS! IT AIN'T WORTH IT!" my right hand yelled, dropping his gun and rushing towards the door. He tried pulling, pushing, and even slamming against it… but it wouldn't budge. His eyes widened as he looked around, "Please! I don't wanna di-" he didn't get to finish, he was pinned to the door by one of those darts through his throat a second later. In the meantime, I turned back towards the turned over table, only to finally see the person assaulting us. I didn't bother to get much of a look, I just pulled the trigger… only for my gun not to shoot. "Huh?!" "Good luck without your firing pin." the woman, still cast in shadows, said, holding up a small metal piece, the one that should've been in my gun. She just moved it behind her ear, behind what looked to be a bright blue beret on her head.

In a bid of desperation, I threw the gun at her, but she caught it effortlessly, spinning it around and seeming to almost disassemble it right there, putting the firing pin back inside. She aimed it right at me. "GAH!" "Amazing how things break if you take out just one part." the woman said as fire went up my arm, the bullet entering my shoulder as I looked up towards her, seeing her aiming the gun towards my chest. "You've gotten away with things because the witnesses won't come forward, mostly out of fear. You thought you were untouchable. And, by all rights and standards, you are." the woman said, pulling back the bolt on the gun as I gulped, knowing what was about to happen to me. I just shut my eyes as I saw her aim it at me.

"But you're not bulletproof."

…

I pulled the trigger, watching as the bullets lit up the room as the door was turned into a piece of splintered drift would, the man's body nearby cut in half as he started convulsing, the bullets flying through his chest, arms, legs. The gun was so inaccurate that some might have hit his head too. It was rather hard to tell to be honest. When I heard the clicking, the gun empty, I tossed it to the side, walking over and lightly pushing on the door… only for the entire thing to fall down, revealing the back alley behind the small building. " _May have overdone it with that one._ " I thought, frowning slightly. I should've just killed him with a dart, would've been much nicer and more clean that way. Speaking of which, I turned around and started grabbing my darts, shoving them beneath my beret before I walked out into the street, seeing the streetlights slowly coming on. I looked at my wrist-watch, finding that it was almost ten o'clock at night. It was 9:58 when I entered the building.

" _Two minutes to kill five men? I'm getting slow._ "

…

"What am I going to do?"

I asked, looking over at Ren as Pyrrha lay beneath us, Ruby, Yang and Nora playing in the backyard. I'd gone over to Ren's house after closing time, leaving Blake to lock up (maybe not my smartest idea but hey, I was desperate) to ask him for advice. Once the work day was over, I checked my scroll, only to find a message. " _You have to hire Maria Long_." from none other than Winter, the mysterious benefactor of my store. Ren, being the naturally observant and intelligent person he was, was the first one I thought to ask. That and, frankly, he was the only _real_ friend I had. I might recognize some customers if I saw them on the street sure, but Ren was different. He was one of the few people that I'd really clicked with after I left home to start my store, and we'd gotten along well for the most part. Other than the fact he didn't forgive people for even the _slightest_ misstep. He was _still_ mad at me for the time I accidentally dropped a cake he made almost two _years_ ago!

"Let me get this straight. Blake's blackmailing you into letting her keep the job, but this 'investor' in your store is forcing you to hire Maria if you want to keep getting the funding? So… what's that have to do with the baby?" he asked, pointing towards Weiss. I knew I shouldn't have brought her out of the store, but I couldn't get her to stop clinging to me, even once she seemed to calm down at the prospect of me leaving. That and, after what had happened this afternoon, I didn't really _want_ to leave her alone with anyone for awhile. I smiled down at her, "She's… it's a long story alright." "Tell it quickly, neither of us have time for a two hour story." he said. I nodded, knowing that he was right. Ren was a real 'don't beat around the bush' kind of guy. Tell you what he thought if you asked him, and he didn't know the _meaning_ of the word sugarcoat. "I found her in an alley and this investor told me to keep her secret if I want this funding to keep coming in. They want me to keep her healthy, happy, and most importantly, _hidden_. Which means you _have_ to keep her a secret. Can you do that?" "... you're kidding right?"

I just nodded, "Right, right…" I said, slightly embarrassed that I'd ever questioned it. I'd told him a secret two years ago… I didn't even remember it anymore, and he never told anyone. Now it was just gone, stored away in his head, a secret even to me. "Why not just hire both? Didn't you say you could afford to?" "That's the thing, they seem to _hate_ each other. How can we get anything done when they're at each other's throats, two seconds from a fight, and driving away customers?" I asked, laying my forehead down on the kitchen table we were sitting at. I just didn't know what to do. I heard a giggle and felt a light poking on my chin. "Pa-pa!" I heard. I smiled at that as I sat up, cradling Weiss against me as I leaned down, planting a kiss on her forehead. "I'm right here sweetie. Papa's not going anywhere." I said, slipping into that babyish tone of voice again. When I looked up, I found Ren smiling at the scene, but then that smile slowly dropped as he started rubbing his chin. I could almost _see_ the gears start turning in his head as I straightened, hoping that he'd come up with some genius solution for my problem.

"Hire one for half the day, and the other for the other half."

I raised an eyebrow, but then slowly I started to smile, letting out a small chuckle as I leaned back. "Ren… you are a genius." "I have my moments." he said, smirking slightly as he whistled, Nora bounding towards the open screen door, pushing it open and jumping up on Ren's lap as he started petting her. Ruby and Yang ran in too, Pyrrha rushing to greet them as Ruby clung for dear life to Yang's back, the two bigger dogs circling one another as they usually did. " _One for each shift… why didn't I think of that?_ " I thought as I stood, whistling as I walked over to Weiss's crib, laying her in it and tucking her in before I handed her the little stuffed bear, her little arms wrapping around it as she seemed to pull it beneath the covers. "You know why this, _Winter_ person wants her kept secret?" "No clue… only thing I can see wrong with her is being adorable! Yes you are! Yes you are!" I said, smiling down at Weiss as I slipped into that babyish voice again. Ren just smiled, nodding as he leaned back in his chair. Nora walked over, not being as hyperactive as usual, and just laid down, Ren calmly petting her behind her ears.

In the meantime, me and the other three dogs left walked towards the door. I set Weiss on the ground for a second as I slipped my shoes back on, Ren didn't like it when people wore shoes in his house, I shivered at the memory of the last time I tracked mud into his house. " _Glad we're friends._ " I thought, I'd _hate_ having someone like Ren not like me… mostly since my job didn't really allow health insurance as part of the package. I opened the door, watching Yang and Pyrrha walk out. I smiled as I saw Ruby curled up on Yang's back, the little ball of fur fast asleep. "Guess Nora really tuckered her out…" I muttered, looking down at the other two. Pyrrha was fine, mostly since she hadn't been playing with Nora all that much, and Yang was still awake… albeit it looked like she was struggling to keep walking. "Alright girls, we're heading home." I said, looking down towards the two grown dogs, one puppy and two year old baby.

It was maybe five minutes down the road when I heard something, something I frankly didn't want to hear. "Oh hey, uhh… Jaune right?" I heard a voice say behind me. I looked over, only to see someone rush past me, said person jumping back and planting what looked to be a skateboard in front of me. It was a black board with a bright green design along the center, as well as near the ends. The wheels were painted with what looked to be flames. I looked up, finding that the person I was talking to was dressed in what looked to be a long, dark purple hoodie, ending at her waist with black short-shorts beneath it. They also seemed to have a lighter purple shirt beneath the hoodie, considering the bits of light purple falling down past their waist, the sleeves being rolled back to expose the lighter purple as a t-shirt, and it coming up past their chest. What made me realize who it was, and that it was a girl and not a guy, was the eyes… and the hair, no _definitely_ the hair.

Her hair stuck up in almost every direction, like spikes coming from outside her hoodie. It was also what looked to be mint green, her eyes being a shade darker than that. I still had a hard time believing it was the same girl though. "Oh, uh, do I know you?" "Officer Chloris Mr. Arc. Have a nice night now." she said, repeating the same line she'd used when we first met. I just nodded, it was _definitely_ the same person. She just… looked _completely_ different out of uniform. "Sorry I didn't recognize you, you look so… so much…" "Like a guy? Yeah, I get that a lot." she said, smiling at me as her eyes trailed down. They actually widened a bit as she saw Weiss staring up at her, the bright and innocent green orbs meeting the older woman's wild ones. "And who's this?~" she said, putting on a higher, more babyish voice as she leaned down, smiling down at Weiss as she laid her skateboard upside down on the ground.

"Oh, uh, this is Weiss. She's my… niece! Niece, she's my niece." I said, hoping that she was too distracted by Weiss's adorableness to actually notice the nervousness in my voice. Thankfully, despite her being a police officer, she didn't seem to notice, just keeping her eyes on Weiss. "Aww, you're watching her while your sister's busy?" "No uh… sort of. It's… she's dealing with some personal issues right now… I'd rather not talk about it." I said, looking away from her. It may have been an act to get her not to ask too many questions, but I wasn't lying. My sister, one of them at least, was going through something I'd rather not discuss. Thinking about it made me worried about her… I needed to call her when I got back, check up on her. The officer/skater nodded, frowning towards me. "Ah… I understand. I know how it feels… you're worried about her aren't you?" "Yeah… worried that I won't see her again." I said, muttering the last part. She stood up straight, placing a consoling hand on my shoulder as she smiled.

"Hey, if my sister can get better after twenty years of doing that crap, _anybody_ can." she said, her eyes flashing with sympathy as I nodded, returning the smile. I met her eyes again, bright green one's meeting blue ones as I spoke, "Thanks Officer Chloris." "Reese." she suddenly said, keeping that same smile. I raised an eyebrow, "Reese Chloris is my name. You can call me Reese." "Well, whatever you want me to call you… thanks." I said. She nodded, kicking down her skateboard and rolling away, likely towards the industrial park if I had to guess. There were plenty of things to skate on and very few people to get in the way out there. Especially at seven o'clock at night. I watched her skate away for a few seconds before I turned around, walking towards the pet center. Along the way there, I thankfully didn't see that many people, most not being out on the streets on a Friday night, more than likely either in clubs or at home, depending on what they wanted to be doing. Even if they were out, most people knew that I travelled with three dogs anyway, so most wouldn't bat an eyelash at me.

It took ten minutes before I saw the familiar center, and I saw Blake still standing by the entrance, keys in her hand as she smiled at me. "Glad your back Jaune." "Have you been waiting out here the whole time?" I asked, considering I'd been gone for almost an hour. Blake just nodded, tossing me the keys as I easily caught them. She walked over to Yang, scratching behind her ear for a second, before she gave me a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow morning Jaune." "About that… there's been a small change." I said. She raised an eyebrow, casting a threatening look towards Weiss. I knew what the look meant, that she'd squeal on Weiss being under my care if I fired her. "Don't get the wrong idea! Nothing's changing with you other than your hours. I need you to come in at six and work until noon from now on. I need more help during the mornings you know? You seem really good with setting things up." I said, hoping she couldn't see through the bold-faced lie… well, she _was_ really good with setting things up, that was true, but I wasn't busier in the morning, I wasn't _busier_ any time of the day, it was usually just a steady flow of customers trickling in through the day.

Blake just nodded, seemingly not suspecting anything. "Alright then, but how will this affect my salary?" "You'll get paid nine lien per hour instead of seven." I said, increasing her from the minimum wage to a somewhat decent wage thanks to the less hours she could work. She just nodded, smiling slightly towards me. "I understand. I'll see you tomorrow morning then. Bye Jaune, bye Weiss, bye Yang." she said, smiling towards the three of us as she turned and walked away, heading down the sidewalk and turning down an alley as I just walked in, finding that Blake had yet to lock the door. She couldn't _really_ have been waiting outside since I left could she? I mean, she'd have had to been waiting for an _hour_ if she was. I walked inside, the dogs walking past me as Pyrrha and Yang both laid down in the dog bed. I set Weiss' crib down as I walked over to the doors, shutting them, locking them, and setting the alarm, learning from last time. Didn't want _another_ robbery now did I?

With that done I walked back over to the counter, picking up Weiss's crib in one hand, the sleeping Ruby in another as I walked towards the back door, opening it and shutting the door behind me. When I turned around though, I found I had an… unexpected visitor. Laying on my bed, there was what looked to be a small cat, black fur covering it's body. I raised an eyebrow as I walked over to it. I seemed to disturb it, since it sat up a second later, amber eyes gazing at me with a sort of cool intelligence. "How'd you get back here little friend?" I asked, smiling towards the cat as I laid Weiss's crib on the floor nearby, setting Ruby in her cage and locking it the way I always did. The cat just meowed in response, walking across the bed and sitting back on it's hind legs. I walked over, gingerly moving a hand towards it. I let my hand hover near it for a second and, when it didn't back away or hiss at me, I let my hand rest on it's head. It rubbed against it, purring as I pet the small black cat.

I smiled as I moved over, laying the small cat on the ground as I stood, picking up Weiss and sitting her crib on the nearby counter. I didn't want to wake up to Weiss screaming about claw markings on her body. I undressed like I always did, setting my clothes in a hamper and making sure to shut it this time before I picked up the cat. "You'll have to stay in the bathroom tonight kitty." I said, giving the small cat a smile as I set it down on the tile floor. I shut the door behind it, hoping the cat wasn't smart enough to open the door. Even so, I left Weiss on the counter just in case as I laid down, letting my eyes slip shut as I felt the darkness of sleep overtaking me.

… **(a/n- you didn't** _ **really**_ **think it was over after that, did you?)**

" _The_ _mission has changed Blake._ "

I felt myself morph out of my cat form, slowly standing up, naked, in the middle of my new bosses bathroom. I leaned my ear against the door, listening for any sound that might indicate someone stirring. Nothing, not a sound other than the breathing of a puppy, baby, and teenager. I opened the door slowly, it soundlessly swinging open on it's hinges as I shut it behind me just as quietly. I stalked forwards, until I was standing right over Jaune's bed. I crouched down, lying against the ground as I reached over, grabbing my clothes from beneath the bed and pulling them out in front of me. I rummaged through my pockets for a second until I found it. The small needle and bottle. I stood, walking towards the still sleeping baby as I stabbed the needle through the cork lid of the bottle. I filled it up with the colorless liquid before I looked down, setting the bottle on the counter.

" _We cannot allow this child to remain in such an insecure location._ "

I heard the voice of Ozpin saying, giving me my new orders. " _Don't worry baby… this will only hurt for a second._ " I thought as I slowly moved forwards, aiming the needle towards her forehead. "YIPYIPYIPYIPYIP!" I nearly jumped as I set the needle down, walking towards Ruby as I saw her barking her head off at me. "Shh! Shh! It's okay, it's me! Blake!" I whispered, opening the cage to try and keep the small pup quiet. Though, she only bit my hand when I got close. I hissed as I jumped back, hearing her yipping her head off. I was about to straight up kick the puppy to shut her up when I saw the door flung open, slamming against the wall. "RUBY!" I heard two voices yell in sink. One of them a red headed girl with what looked like a bushy tail, the other a blonde girl with long hair and what looked to be a two fox ears. I recognized their scents. Pyrrha and Yang.

They were faunus.

"Calm down!" "GET AWAY FROM HER!" Pyrrha yelled, rushing me as she nearly slammed me against the back wall. I looked down, seeing her eyes clouded with fury as I saw Ruby suddenly changing, entering her human form as well. Of course, I'd suspected her from the start, she was always a little _too_ smart of the husky puppy. I pulled my right arm up, slamming my elbow down between Pyrrha's shoulder blades as she crumbled, holding my hands out in my familiar combat stance as Yang and Ruby rushed me. I felt Ruby bite my thigh as Yang started snapping at me, my hands around her neck the only thing keeping her at bay. "Jeeze! Anyone every tell you about a breath mint?" I said as I moved one hand back, punching Yang in the stomach before I reached back, yanking Ruby's tail. "EEH!" Ruby squealed in a voice that, any other circumstance, I would've found adorable. Now though, I was only focused on the three women in front of me.

And then I heard the stirring.

I looked over, all four of us freezing as we saw Jaune bolt upright, looking around with wild eyes. "Weiss!? Ruby!? What's… what the…" he said, his eyes widening as his face gradually started heating up. We all stayed there, as if none of us really knew what we were supposed to do next. All of our faces were as red as Pyrrha's hair when Weiss shook us out of it. How? By starting to cry. Jaune started fumbling for words, trying to figure out what was going on. "I, Blake, Faunus, how? Naked girls…bedroom…" he didn't get to say much more, as after a second I saw his head suddenly get slammed against the wall, his body crumpling to the ground. I saw Yang standing there, her fist held out.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"

"I PANICKED OKAY!"

Pyrrha, the one that had asked her why she did that, looked over at me. "What were you doing with Weiss?" she asked, her eyes holding a sort of ferocity in them. I knew that kind of ferocity, I'd seen it on mothers all the time. I held up my hands, "I didn't intend on hurting her alright? I'd planned on bringing her somewhere safe. Until you three came along that is." I said, muttering the last sentence. I reached down, lightly rubbing at my thigh where Ruby had nearly ripped out a chunk of my skin. I looked down at Jaune. "Guys… he knows. What now?" Ruby asked, her eyes showing a sense of fear as she clung to her sister, wrapping her arms around the taller girl's stomach. I shook my head, walking towards the counter as Pyrrha kept a close eye on me. "I've got an idea. This was supposed to keep Weiss asleep until morning, but it should work about the same on Jaune. I'll get dressed for when he wakes up and we can make him think it was all a dream." I said, hoping it would actually _work_.

Pyrrha walked over, grabbing the crying Weiss and cradling her, as far from me as she could get mind you, as she kept watchful eyes on me. "If you so much as give me one reason why you'd hurt Jaune I'll rip you apart." "Killing innocents isn't in my job description." I said, placing the needle in Jaune's neck and slowly pushing down the plunger. I waited a few seconds before I filled it again. "What're you doing?" "He's almost fully grown, it'll take more to keep him sedated than it will Weiss." I said. It would take two, at _least_ two to keep him sedated all night. It might take more but, she didn't want to risk giving him an overdose. After I gave him the second shot, I set the bottle and needle back next to my clothes, moving back around and sitting on Jaune's bed. "Now we wait until morning." "We've got time then…" Yang said, leaving it hanging as she sat down, Ruby laying her head on her sister's shoulder. Pyrrha sat down as well, cradling the now sleeping Weiss against her breasts as she swung the little girl gently back and forth.

I sighed, "Alright I get it, I guess I owe you an explanation. What do you want to know?" "Everything." the three faunus said in unison, Yang and Pyrrha's eyes burning with curiosity and fury, while Ruby's… they were closed as she let out soft snores, nuzzling into the crook of her sister's neck and shoulder. It _was_ way past her bedtime to be fair. I sighed, "You'll know my boss better than me. His name's Ozpin, he's the head of our organization." the two girls exchanged looks, Yang slowly nodding as Pyrrha looked back at me. I could about guess what question she was going to ask next. "What exactly _is_ your organization?" she asked. Predictable, but we were so seclusive the only one's that knew we existed were those we'd contacted. Even the White Fang and the huntsmen didn't know we existed. The White Fang thought we were huntsmen, and the huntsmen thought we were White Fang.

"We were formed two hundred years ago by faunus from the White Fang and humans from the huntsmen that wanted peace, instead of the destruction of a single species. We adapted methods and missions to try and keep peace between the two races instead of trying to destroy each other. To maintain balance. Unfortunately, since the Fall of Ghira, the White Fang aren't really willing to listen to us. And since Ozpin left the huntsmen to lead our order, the new leader isn't willing to negotiate with us either. Add to the fact that the world believes the faunus are extinct, and we've got our work cut out for us. We're trying to make the faunus that live in secrecy as pets, wild animals, or in complete seclusion equality when humans don't even _know_ they're being mistreated." I said. The two girls nodded, taking in the information. It was a noble goal sure, and as far as fruitless wastes of time went, it wasn't the worst one I could be doing. I could be trying to conquer the human race or destroy all the faunus that remain in the world. "You never did say the name of your order." Yang said. I had a feeling she would ask that.

"Among our members, we are known as the grimm."

"That's not a very 'noble' sounding name." "We are known as grimm because of the ancient legends. On our missions we wear the masks of the ancient monsters so that we won't be recognized. That or we just kill everyone there. The name strikes fear into those that hear it, even if they _don't_ know the old myths. We used to be called the maidens, but it really didn't have the same intimidating effect as 'grimm' does." I said, smiling slightly. I'd been the one to suggest the name once Ozpin took over. I was getting rather tired of being called a maiden by everyone at our bases whenever we all gathered in the same place. Pyrrha nodded, looking down at the sleeping baby in her arms. "What does any of this have to do with little Weiss?" she asked, unconsciously holding Weiss up slightly. I sighed, I knew that would come up. Even though I didn't want to really admit what was going to happen. I figured though, that they deserved to know the truth.

"That baby in your arms will either save all faunus... or destroy them."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter eight: Identity

( **a/n- gonna try something a little different here. By that I mean, a different technique. Basically we're trying shorter paragraphs (mostly). Tell me if this works or if I should go back to my normal style.)**

"Jaune?"

I slowly opened my eyes, groaning. My head was pounding like someone hit me with a hammer… or slammed me into a wall. I felt my vision clearing up slightly as I saw Ren standing over me, holding Weiss in his arms. I shut my eyes again as I saw Nora come up to me, licking my face for a few seconds. "Down girl! Down!" I said, pushing her back as I stood up, looking around. The bathroom door was closed, and Nora was growling at it, no doubt the small cat from last night in there. Ruby was laying on my lap, seemingly asleep, with her tail wagging every direction. "I had the weirdest dream…" I muttered, rubbing the back of my head as I picked up the little husky, standing up and laying her on the bed. I heard slight whimpering as I looked over, seeing Ren trying to comfort Weiss. After a second though he just held her out towards me, a knowing smile on his face. I took her from him without hesitation, holding her close as I saw big, beautiful blue eyes gazing back at me, meeting my own.

"Who's my little girl huh? Who's my special little girl?" I said, talking in a more babyish tone as I saw Weiss start giggling. Then I felt the sense at my leg, the pawing. When I looked down, I saw Ruby looking up at me, barking and, if dogs could look jealous, _man_ was she jealous of what was going on. I chuckled as I sat down, letting Ruby up in my lap as I kept Weiss close. "Don't worry Rubes, you'll always be my special little puppy." I said, taking a hand from Weiss and petting Ruby.

"Can I ask why you were lying on the ground?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow towards me. I just shrugged, turning my attention to Weiss for a moment as she started crying out again. I stood, and Ruby, being the smart pup she was, jumped onto the floor, circling around my feet as I walked over to the counter. I handed Weiss off to Ren before I grabbed a bottle of Weiss's formula, preparing it as quickly as I could. When it was done I took Weiss back, holding it towards her. She grabbed it without hesitation, suckling on the bottle as I looked towards the bathroom.

" _I wonder, was that cat part of the dream too? Maybe I was so exhausted I just crashed on the floor._ " I thought. It didn't make _much_ sense to me but, hey, it was the best I could come up with. Though, when I walked over to the door and opened it, a little black cat ran out past me, going past Ren as Nora started bounding after it. I heard the barking of Pyrrha and Yang too as they no doubt started chasing after the cat. "I should… probably go deal with that." I muttered as I set Weiss in her crib, running towards the entrance of the store with Ruby bounding by my feet.

When I walked past the door I saw the three big dogs jumping up towards the small cat, who had wisely decided to climb up to the top of a nearby shelf. I frowned as I saw a dog collar fall off one of the racks, "Girls!" I yelled, whistling a second later as the three of them moved back down, walking towards me. I leaned down, rubbing behind Yang and Pyrrha's ears respectively as Nora bounded over to Ren, who pet her with that same fervor he always had. Which was to say, an impassive gaze. "Calm down, act like you two have never seen a cat before." I muttered, smiling at them as I stood, walking towards the black kitten. I held held out my hands towards her. At least… I guessed it was a her anyway. I wasn't really sure.

"Come here. Don't worry, I won't bite." I said, smiling at the small black cat as she gingerly stepped down onto my arm, letting me cradle her in both arms as I heard the distinct sound of knuckles on glass. I turned, raising an eyebrow as I saw… Blake. Or rather, an older Blake. She was clad in a pair of overalls, with little sun pins to hold them up mind you, and a white t-shirt. Covering most of her hair was a long-brimmed hat, bright yellow, the hat of a gardener if I'd even seen one. That fact was even more confirmed when I saw that she was holding a clean trowel in one hand, knocking with the other. She had a gentle smile on her face, waving towards me when I noticed her. I walked over, opening the door and smiling at the woman. "Sorry ma'am. We're uh… not exactly ready to open just yet." I said, giving her a sheepish smile. She pointed towards the kitten in my arms, amber eyes sparkling up at me.

"I'm here for my little Blakey actually." she said. At that the kitten in my arms jerked up it's head, looking over at her as I felt her start to squirm. I just nodded a few times, letting the cat down as the woman laid her trowel up beneath her hat. "Come here! Come here sweetie!" she said in a similar tone to what I used with Weiss, beaming down at the cat as she held it up, cradling it in her arms just like I was.

"Oh I've been looking _everywhere_ for you! Mama's sorry she couldn't find you sooner. Can you forgive me?" she asked, pouting down at the cat as it just laid it's head down, seemingly nuzzling into the crook in the women's overalls. If I didn't know any better I'd say she was trying to hide herself from embarrassment. The woman smiled back down at her cat, running a hand along the kitten's back as I heard a faint and, almost restrained, purring coming from her. "Wonder how she got here?" I muttered, looking back towards my room. I mean, there were no windows in it, the only real entrance being the door. Unless this cat could disappear through walls. The woman only giggled, a deep and mature sound that made her seem a bit older than she looked… granted, she didn't _look_ that old to begin with. That and she looked so much like Blake… and her cat's name was Blakey… "If you don't mind me asking ma'am, do you have a daughter by chance?"

"I do actually. OH! I'm so sorry! I seem to have forgotten my manners!" she said, her face sporting a light tinge as she awkwardly rubbed behind her head. Then she cleared her throat, holding out a hand towards me, the one that was previously petting the cat. "I'm Kali. Kali Belladonna." she said. I reached over, shaking her hand to find it was surprisingly soft, and her grip rather light. She moved her hand back after a second, going back to petting and cooing to the little cat… it was rather adorable actually. Something about Kali was almost… childlike, in a way. "I'm Jaune Arc; you're Blake's mother?" I asked, giving her a slight smile. Of course, I'd kind of figured when she said her last name was Belladonna. She was either Blake's mother or sister and, considering she had a daughter, I _highly_ doubted sister was the right answer.

"Hmm? Are you Blake's boyfriend? OW!" Kali said, dropping the cat that, naturally, landed on it's feet. The cat was hissing up at the woman as she grabbed at her shirt, just above where the overalls ended. There were two scratch marks, no doubt made by the small kitten. I shook my head, my face retaining the blush from being called Blake's boyfriend, "No. I'm her boss actually. I hired her just yesterday… is she coming into work today? I mean, we open in an hour." I said. From the brief encounters I'd had with the girl, she didn't seem like the type to be late. Kali just nodded, picking up her cat, glaring at it slightly before the motherly smile and manner came back. "Yes she'll be coming in. I'd be careful if I were you though," she leaned in, whispering this next part below anyone's hearing. "Don't tell her I told you but, it's her 'strawberry season' if you know what I mean." she said, winking at me as I nodded, watching the woman turn and walk away.

"It was nice to meet you Jaune. Blake should be in soon, don't worry." she said, waving at me with a bright smile before she walked out the door, heading off to the left down the sidewalk. I looked over at Ren, who was just casually petting Nora as he sat back on my stool. "She seem a little… strange, to you?" Ren asked, looking off towards the woman. I just nodded, knowing full well what he meant. She seemed a little _too_ attached to that cat if you asked me… maybe her daughter had moved out? Empty nest syndrome or something like that? Whatever it was, I didn't really have the time to think much over it. Mostly since, I heard Weiss starting to cry. I dashed past Ren, walking in and smiling slightly as I picked Weiss up, sniffing the air as I normally did. "Alright Missy," I said, holding her at arm's length as I gave a slight smile,

" _You_ need a change."

…

"I don't see why you had to _scratch_ me."

I looked up at the pouting woman as she walked down the sidewalk, carrying me in her arms. "Meow! Meow meow me-!" "Sweetie, no one can understand you while you're a cat." she interrupted me, giving a little smile as I felt her rub her hand along my head. I couldn't help but to roll my head slightly, my instincts betraying me as I let out a low purr. My mother let out a light giggle, smiling down at me as she kept it up, moving from my head to my back. "You're just like your father was, _loved_ having his ears pet and his back rubbed." she said, petting me in those same areas as my body let out more traitorous purrs. I was one of Beacon's best agents! Why was I purring like some common _house cat!?_ I looked up, seeing my mother turn off the side and walk into a small, brick building. Once she got in, she set me down on a nearby table. My mother took off her hat, exposing her cat ears with the small, golden earrings attached. She set it on a nearby rack before she started walking away. "I expect you to be a faunus and not a cat when I come back, otherwise I'm dropping you in the bath." she said playfully, but the threat itself, however jokingly it may have been said, caused my eyes to widen as I jumped onto the nearby couch, shutting my eyes as I felt myself changing out of my cat form.

When my mother came back, she didn't see a small cat on the couch, rather, a naked teenager with a red face, covering themselves on the couch. She sighed, "Blake, I'm your mother, and there's no one else here. You don't have to cover up." she said, giving a slight smile as she unclipped her overalls, letting them fall down to expose a pair of shorts beneath them. I didn't speak as I stood, walking back towards where I knew the bathroom was. I strided past the rooms, looking in and keeping my breasts covered, just in case there was some unseen guest I wasn't aware of. " _Think I'd be used to being naked by now after all my infiltration missions…_ " I thought as I opened the door to the bathroom, shutting and locking it behind me as I walked towards the bath.

I couldn't help the small sigh that came from me as I slipped my legs into the steaming water, the rest of my body soon following as I leaned my head back, smiling as I felt the water warming me up. It'd been cold sleeping on that bathroom floor, since Yang and Pyrrha adamantly _refused_ to allow me to sleep elsewhere, so the warm water? A welcome change. I shut my eyes, just letting the water warm my cold skin… for a while anyway. "How did the mission go?" "EEH!" I suddenly yelled, reaching down and covering my breasts, since they were above the water level, before I looked around, trying to find the source of the rather deep voice. Though, when I saw it, I let out a sigh of both relief, and _extreme_ irritation. "Mom! Don't _do_ that!" I said, glaring at the tall, black cat that was now perched on the sink, the door still shut, but unlocked. Had I really been so focused on the warmth I'd not seen her walk in, turn into a cat, and then shut the door back?

"Sorry sweetie." she said, her voice going from her deep, disguised one to her normal one. She bounded off the high sink, perching on the top of the shower head as she hunched her kitty shoulders, looking down at me with eyes of sparkling amber. "Remind me why _you_ can talk in your cat form and _I_ can't?" I asked, glaring up at my mother as I kept my arms around my chest. Sure, she was my mother, but it was still somewhat embarrassing. Mom jumped off from the shower-head, landing on a clear bar in the shower, meant for if one of our members was handicapped. "Thirty years of practice, that's how." she said, jumping from the railing to right next to me, on the edge of the tub. I glared towards her, giving a slight smirk as I had a devious idea. I uncovered my breasts, reaching over and grabbing the shampoo nearby in one hand, with the other? I immediately dunked my mother into the water. "BLAGH! PFFT! BLAKE!" I heard my mother nearly shouting as she splashing around, only for a large amount of white suds to suddenly encompass her tiny form.

"GAH!"

I said as I felt a heavy weight suddenly on me. I looked down, seeing my mother spread out over me, naked as I'd expect, with shampoo on her ears and head. She leaned back, sitting up against the other side as she glared at me. Then that glare turned into a smile as she leaned over. "AH! MOM!" I said, feeling my mother pulling me almost onto her lap, roughly rubbing her hand along the top of my head. I felt a purr building up in my throat but, thanks to me being in human form this time, I pushed it down, looking up at my mother as I felt her pull me into a hug, my head just above her chest, the rest of me spread out over her legs. "If I'd known you'd make this big of a fus I'd have washed you when you were still a cat." she said, grabbing a shampoo bottle and squirting a bit of it on my head. I had to shut my eyes as I felt some of it dripping down. "Mooom… I'm not kitten!" I said, feeling almost _mortified_ at the fact she was washing me off, I mean, I was _seventeen_!

"How did your mission go?" she asked as she flipped me around, wrapping her legs around my stomach, my arms held at my sides with her surprising strength as she washed my hair. I tried to struggle for a minute, but eventually just gave up. She wasn't called 'Killer Kali' for nothing I guess. "I was about to secure the girl but… things happened, okay?" "Did you mate with your boss?" she asked, causing my face to burn bright red as I gave my mother my strongest glare… which probably wasn't much, being as I was held in her leg's death grip and having my hair washed by her. "No… Ruby, Pyrrha, and Yang are his dogs. They were all faunus." I said. I heard my mother humming softly as she ran her hands through my hair, seemingly not caring about what I just said. "Did you not hear m-" "I heard you just fine Blakey, I could tell they were the second I walked in." she said. This caused my eyes to widen as I turned my head as far as it would go, getting only a glimpse of my mother's smiling face.

"What? You get old enough dear, you start to notice these things. Most faunus smell different than their animal counterparts. That's what helps us know which animals we see are faunus, and which one's are just regular animals." she explained, reaching behind her and flicking on the water. I felt the pressure around me move as she stood, pulling back the curtain and pressing a small button on the side. The water suddenly started pouring out of the shower part of it, "KYA!" I yelled, instinctively wrapping my arms around my mother as I shut my eyes, feeling the cold water hitting my side. I froze a few seconds later, realizing that I'd been cuddling against my mother's chest, basically unconsciously, when I felt it's warmth. She smiled down at me, "You've got a _long_ way to go before you aren't a kitten Blake. Even then," she reached down, lightly pecking my cheek before she crouched down, submerging herself beneath the water.

Whenever she came back up, I instead saw the familiar cat with the golden orbs in it's ears. "You'll always be _my_ little kitten. Now wash up, you've only got an hour before work. Don't forget to wash behind your ears!" she said, hopping out of the bath before she, oddly enough, shook herself off, much like a dog, before jumping down. I heard the sound of a door opening and closing. I turned back towards the shower, washing off my hair and… behind my ears, despite my internal objections. They were just so _sensitive_. Washing there was always such a pain. In the end though, I did it. I didn't want mom to clean my ears herself the next time I turned into a cat. I stayed in there probably a bit longer than I should have, letting the blush from being washed by my mother at my age fade away, before I turned off the water, getting out and grabbing a towel. I wrapped it around my head as I looked in the mirror, smiling slightly. Without my ears I almost looked… human. It was kind of strange.

During this time I saw the door open, my mother coming in wearing the same clothes she was a few moments ago. "Here are your clothes sweetie." she said, laying them down on the closed hamper about a foot away from the bathtub. I just nodded, turning around to face her. She only smiled at me, walking over and wrapping her arms around my back. Then she leaned in, planting a kiss on my cheek before she stepped back, her hands around my shoulders as I saw her frown. "Be careful out there, okay?" she asked, her eyes taking on that old, pained quality she had. I'd thought she'd lost it whenever dad died but… I guess you never really did lose that look. I sure hadn't.

"I always am Mom."

…

"Reporting for duty sir."

I raised an eyebrow towards the white haired girl, seeing her saluting me with a blank expression. "Umm, Maria…" I said, trying to figure out what she was doing. Her eyes widened as she put her hand down, her face slightly flushed. She turned away, frowning slightly as she looked down towards Ruby. She embraced the distraction, quickly picking up the small puppy and almost roughly stroking her fur. "Apologies Mr. Arc. I um… that's how I was train- I mean, taught! Taught, by my… last job." she said, her entire body going rigid as I saw her hand quickly striking across Ruby's back. Ruby, though, seemed to be liking it, pressing against the woman's every time it made one of it's quick passes. I just shrugged, chalking up the nerves to first day jitters. I knew _I_ had them whenever I started my first job.

"Alright then Maria… is Maria okay with you? Or would you prefer to be called something else?" I asked, figuring I might as well try and make her a bit more comfortable about the whole thing. Her response came, rather unexpected. I expected her to think for a minute, maybe tell me no, that Maria was fine, but instead she answered like lightning. "Winter." was her response. Now, it may have been my imagination, but I could've _sworn_ I saw her cringe slightly. Though, it could easily have _been_ my imagination, since it was gone a second later. I just nodded, unable to keep the parallels from drawing themselves in my head. Winter, the mysterious benefactor that had told me _specifically_ to hire the girl standing in front of me. Maria Long. Who happened to look _suspiciously_ like Weiss. " _I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer- pretty sure that's in the drawer beneath the cash register- but there' something wrong about this whole thing._ " I thought as I just nodded towards the newly named 'Winter'.

"Why Winter might I ask?" "It's a long story." she responded immediately, the second, the _second_ I'd stopped speaking she replied. Had she been rehearsing this? She seemed to know exactly what to say, and yet she was so nervous about her delivery… it was like watching an elementary school play or something. "Well, we've got time." I said, gesturing behind her towards the clock. It was noon, meaning we had six hours before the shop closed. That was _plenty_ of time for her to tell me that story. Her muscles went rigid as her hands froze over Ruby's back, her face burning bright red as she looked away from me. "I'd umm… ahem," she cleared her throat, "Prefer not to talk about it." she said.

"You don't want to tell me, you don't have to." I said, holding up my hands and giving her a slight smile. She was _clearly_ embarrassed about whatever that story was, that or nervous, I could never tell the difference. She just nodded, "Thank you Mr. Arc." she said, her blush gradually dying down as she set Ruby on the floor, said husky dashing behind the counter towards me, clawing at my legs. I picked her up, smiling down at her as I set her down on the counter, running one hand along her back as I let the other droop to my side. "You can just call me Jaune by the way." "Hmm?!" she responded, suddenly looking up and meeting my gaze. This… was not at all what I expected, based on first appearances alone. She seemed less confident now that she actually _had_ the job than when she was trying to _get_ the job! I just raised an eyebrow, slowly nodding, "You don't have to keep calling me 'Mr. Arc'. Just… call me Jaune. Just Jaune." I said, feeling somewhat awkward myself. Apparently the girl's nerves were contagious.

"Aaaanyway. I need you to man the register. Just ring up items and take people's money. Oh! And if you see a cop with bright red hair and a hat, come find me _immediately._ " I said, remembering Winter's, the benefactor not the employee, warning about the man named Adam. Winter raised an eyebrow at me, but nodded nonetheless, taking Ruby with her behind the counter as I walked past her, my hip brushing against hers as I moved out from around the counter, towards the adoption center. I saw her sit down on my stool, stroking Ruby as I saw Yang stand up, walking towards the adoption center with me. I opened the door, walking around and refilling the dogs food bowls. "You don't like her I'm guessing?" I asked, looking back towards Yang with a smile. She let out a low growl, turning around and glaring at the closed door that led out to Winter. I reached over, scratching behind her ear to try and calm her down. "Hey, I don't want you attacking her okay? Treat her like you would me." I said, leaning down and wrapping my arms around Yang's head. "Can you do that for me?" I asked. Her response? Lick my cheek before barking.

"Hehe, good." I said, wiping off her slobber before I stood, going back to feeding the animals. "JAUNE!" Until, that is, I heard that. I dropped the bag of food, thankfully closed since I was done, before I flung open the door to the main store, reaching for my switchblade. I looked behind the counter, seeing Winter standing up, against the nearby wall. She looked positively _mortified_ at something, her eyes wide as she looked down. I walked over towards her, feeling my face pale as I saw what she was looking at. There, next to where her knee would've been, was Weiss's drawer, pulled open and her in plain view. I saw two little arms reaching up, a head of white hair and brilliant blue eyes showing themselves for a second. "Pa-pa!" she said, holding out her arms towards me. I smiled at her as I walked over, reaching down and picking her up. I cradled her in my arms, planting a kiss on her forehead. "How's my special little girl doing huh? Did you have a nice nap?" I asked, slipping into that babyish tone of voice I tended to use with her.

"Umm…" I looked back, my smile flying from my face as I remembered Winter was standing ten feet away. I held out one hand, cradling Weiss in one arm as I felt my own face start to burn with panic. "I can explain!" "Yeah… could you?" she asked. Her gaze… strangely, it wasn't confused. There was no confusion, and she seemed to even _recognize_ Weiss, her eyes flashing strangely when they gazed at her. Maybe it was the surprise… but no, that seemed too much. Her shock wasn't fake though, I could tell that much. "This is… my daughter, Weiss Arc. You must've woken her up from her nap." I said, cradling said girl in both arms again, letting them bounce slightly as she cuddled up to her little bear toy. Winter slowly nodded, walking towards me before she looked down, Weiss's eyes turning towards her. Weiss seemed confused, pointing up towards Winter's hair. "Whait! Whait!" she said. Winter looked at me raising an eyebrow, I just shrugged, looking down at Weiss. She kept saying that… and then I realized what 'Whait" meant.

"Are you trying to say white Weiss?" "Whait!" she said, giggling and pointing towards Winter's hair. I smiled at her attempt, reaching down and holding her beneath her arms, lifting her up towards Winter's hair. Winter just stood still, looking up at her as she grabbed bits of Winter's hair. "This is Winter's hair Weiss, it's white. Can you say that? Whi-te." I said, slowly enunciating the word in hopes she would understand. Weiss gave a little frown, moving her lips around a bit, mumbling something. "Whi-te!" "Good job!" I said, pulling her down and into a hug, lightly pecking her on the forehead. Winter still stood there, giving a little smile towards Weiss as the girl held out her hands, smiling at Winter. "Whi-te!" she said. I looked towards Winter, lightly holding Weiss up in an unspoken question. Winter just nodded, reaching over and, somewhat awkwardly, holding Weiss in her arms. I moved Winter's arms back, making it so she was cradling Weiss's head.

"I think she likes you." I said, giving her a smile as Weiss seemed to cuddle next to Winter's rather large bust, almost rubbing her head against it like a cat. Winter's awkward, outer shell seemed to break, her smiling at the little girl. When she spoke… well, she was like a whole other person. "Whi-te!" "No no Weiss, it's Win-ter. Can you say that? Win-ter." she said.

"Whi-te!"

"Come on! Win-ter."

"Whi-te!"

"Nonono! _Win-ter_."

"Ma-ma!"

( **a/n- yeah someone cue the record stopping sound effect here.** )

Me and Winter both froze, even Ruby, Yang, and Pyrrha looking up at Weiss as she just giggled, tapping her little fists, on Winter's chest. "Ma-ma!" she said again, giggling slightly as I reached over, lightly tossling her hair as I tried to process what I'd just heard. We were like that for awhile, the only sound being Weiss's giggling and the ambient noise of the nearby fish tanks, until Winter spoke. "She… she called me…" "Ma-ma!" Weiss finished for her. Winter looked down, cradling her a bit tighter as she looked at me, confused clearly. I reached out, Winter seemingly _gladly_ handing Weiss over as said girl grabbed up towards me. "Pa-pa!" "Well, at least _that's_ normal." I muttered, walking over and sitting on my stool, looking up towards my employee. Maria Long, Winter. She looked at me and Weiss, still seemingly speechless about what happened. Though, looking at Weiss, there was something I knew. It was love, but not for a child, like I had for Weiss. No, that look was the love of a sister, one that I had for all seven of mine.

" _Maria Long, what are you hiding?_ "


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter nine: Protect the package: By any means necessary

"Uhh… what happened?"

I thought as I slowly opened my eyes, looking around the room I was in. I wasn't in my dog bed, oddly enough, but rather in a _real_ bed, like the one my master used to sleep in before… before… " _No… don't cry… not now…_ " I thought as I reached up a hand, wiping away at my tears as I noticed something else. I wasn't naked, rather I was wearing a long, brown nightgown. I sat up, looking around as I tried to move my legs, only for them to remain completely stationary. Suddenly, I heard a nearby door open, light spilling into the dark room as I shut my eyes, blinking against it. My eyes widened when they adjusted and I saw the figure that was slowly approaching me.

They were dressed in a long, white robe that cling to their body, showing off their curves. Above that they had a strange mask, one that was swirls of red, green, and blue, all to make a spiral. I sat back as far as I could from them, only for them to reach up, taking off the mask. Beneath it there was a dark skinned woman, bright red eyes, and long green hair, a small smile gracing their face. She took a few steps forward, reaching into her robe and pulling out what looked to be an apple. She held it out towards me, "Here." she said, still smiling at me as I gently moved forward. I sniffed the apple. It didn't _smell_ poisonous, so i grabbed it, taking a small bite. I smiled when I felt the familiar taste on my tongue, quickly biting into it as hunger started making itself known.

The woman just watched, patiently waiting for me to toss the apple core to the floor, looking up at her. "Who are you?" "I'm called the Den mother. Think of me as… a babysitter, for the newcomers like you." she said, standing back up and sitting down on the bed next to me, that whole time keeping that strangely off putting yet also fitting motherly smile on her face. I raised an eyebrow, looking to her head and, when that failed, behind her. "Wait… you're not a fau…" I trailed off, eyes wide as I saw her skin and hair start rapidly changing colors, like a rainbow right in front of me. "Nus…" I said. The woman let out a small laugh, reaching over and gently rubbing my right ear. Then I heard the sound of heavy boots on the ground and the woman looked over her shoulder, her body trembling slightly as she looked back towards me, holding out her hands. "Come closer." she said.

I complied, feeling her hugging me to her chest as someone walked in their room. All I could see was white, but I could hear every single word. "Who's this?" I heard a snarky, male voice ask. They sounded like they didn't give a crap about me, or cared if I lived or died. They just knew I was a thing. "The child Tyrian brought in… before you ask _no_ Adam." the woman said, holding me tighter to her. I felt the woman jerk, a cry of pain coming from her along with a loud, wood hitting against flesh sound. I could hear someone scoffing, "You are in no position to defy me half-blood. _I'm_ in charge here, _I_ decide what becomes of her. Do I need to take you back downstairs?" the man asked. I felt the woman shiver, and I could tell she was shaking her head, _violently_.

"NO! Please! I… I understand. I'll be a good girl from now on." she said, her voice cracking higher with fear. I heard the man grunt before he started moving away, the sound of boots hitting against the ground before the door slammed shut. I moved back from the woman's chest, looking up to see her nursing what looked to be a small welt on her cheek. "He… he hurt you." "It's okay… it's nothing." she said, wincing as she touched it, _obviously_ holding back tears. Still though, she kept smiling down at me, like nothing was wrong. I felt her pulled me onto her lap, smiling down at me as she gently ran her hands through my hair. "Lady… what's the downstairs?" I asked, looking up at her. I saw her look away, as if to disguise the fear and hatred in her eyes… she knew it was futile against a faunus, not sure why she did it. Her next words though, chilled me down to the bone.

"If you're a good little girl, you'll _never_ have to find out."

…

"Thank you, come again!"

Winter said, waving towards the man as he walked away, taking one last look towards her with a small smile on his face, the direction of his eyes making it _very_ clear what he was happy about. And it _wasn't_ the nametag on Winter's shirt. I saw the man turn down the street as I flipped the sign to closed, walking back towards the front of the store to find Winter standing as emotionless as she was before, having dropped the happy mask she'd put on around the customers. She seemed rather… business-y, seems the best word here. She looked like she'd sooner be staging a hostile takeover rather than smiling and waving at customers… then she picked up Ruby and that facade was immediately dropped.

"You're pretty good with people Winter." I said, walking around back, brushing against her back, before I opened the drawer Weiss was in, pulling out the napping girl and cradling her in my arms. I felt a tint of red on my face when I remembered earlier, how Weiss had thought Winter was her mother… why didn't she do that with Blake? Why Winter? That was the _one_ question I couldn't reasonably answer. "You don't have to lie to me Jaune… I've never been all that… well…" "I'm not lying Winter. It sounded like you'd known those people for years and I _guarantee_ you don't know most of their names." I said, smiling over at her and then down at Weiss when I felt a little hand grabbing at my chin, lightly pulling on the hairs growing there… probably needed to shave soon.

Winter blinked a few times before she looked away, a light blush on her face. "Oh… well, thank you Jaune. I still think you're-" "Do you always do that?" I interrupted, raising an eyebrow towards her as I gave Weiss her stuffed animal, the little girl giggling as she played with it in my arms. Winter opened her mouth to speak, but I managed to beat her to it. "I mean, it seems like every time I've tried to _compliment_ you you just… kinda brush it off. Make it seem like less than it is." I said. I mean, if someone was complimenting me I'd just thank them and take it. If it wasn't true well, that was another story. Though, the compliments _I'd_ said to Winter were completely true, and she seemed to know that too. So… why brush them off. Winter just looked away, off towards some of the shelves as we sat there in silence, the only sounds being Weiss's adorable little giggles and the normal, ambient sounds of the pet store.

"It's just," Winter said, finally breaking the silence. "I'm not used to being praised. I do as expected and… that's it. I'm not doing anything out of the ordinary so… why compliment me? I don't understand it." she said, furrowing her brow in confusion, looking off towards the door. I laid Weiss down in her crib for a moment, walking towards the adoption center and pulling open the door. "Well, _I_ like to let people know I appreciate what they're doing. And uh, for the record, I don't like to make a habit of lying." I said, walking into the adoption center. I felt a sense in my chest as I realized just how ironic that was. I say that I don't _like_ to make a habit of lying, yet by telling her Weiss was my daughter, that was _exactly_ what I was doing. I tried to ignore it, walking around and grabbing items to replace the one's that had been sold.

When I walked back in, I noticed that Winter was still staring at the door, her brow scrunched in confusion. She stayed that way until I was _done_ re-stocking, up to the point I waved my hand in front of her face. She blinked a few times, looking over at me. "Anybody home? Cause you left the lights on." I said, lightly poking her forehead, giving her a warm smile. Her face burned a light red as she stood, looking away from me and once again going to Ruby for distraction, picking up the small husky and gently rubbing her back. I looked around, walking over and picking up Weiss, who was starting to grumble and complain a bit about me not being there. "You know I spoil you, don't I my little princess? Yes I do! Yeees I do!" I said, tickling Weiss slightly as she let out more adorable giggles.

After a minute I looked over to Winter, walking towards the door as she got the message, following me. "Well, about quitting time Winter. See you tomorrow." I said, holding open the door for her. She seemed… hesitant, to say the least. I raised an eyebrow towards her, looking outside for anything that might be suspicious but… I saw nothing. There was just the empty street in the middle of the night, Winter being an unarmed woman in work clothes with a pretty face and a large bust and oooooh… right… "Do you uh, need me to walk you home, Winter?" "Hmm, oh I uh, I wouldn't want to burden you." she said, looking away from me.

"Oh it wouldn't be a burden! I think Weiss is getting bored of the same old store anyway. Besides, I need to walk my pets. Girls!" I said, whistling as the three dogs bounded near me, Yang giving a light growl towards Winter as Ruby leapt at her feet. Winter smiled down at the dogs, then looked back up towards me. She looked outside one more time, a hint of fear in her eyes, before she nodded. "I'd… appreciate it, Jaune." she said, giving a relieved smile. I just nodded, turning around and walking towards the back room, quickly grabbing my revolver and shoving it, uncocked of course, into the waistband of my pants. I didn't own a holster for it after all. I walked into the backroom, and before turning right into my bedroom I pulled open the nearby closet, rooting around in the bottom. "Let's see… hmm, I know I have it somewhere… ah-ha!" I said, pulling out a small, folded up, pink stroller.

I swiped some of the dust off of it before I gently set Weiss inside, strapping her in as well as I knew how. Weiss only smiled at me, clutching her bear to her little body. "Pa-pa!" she said. I only smiled, pecking her forehead before I stepped behind her, pushing the stroller and its occupant out into the front of the store. " _Well, in the text Winter said not to let Weiss be seen… then again, I can't leave Weiss alone and in good conscious let Winter walk home alone either… oh well, it's dark out. Maybe no one will see us?_ " I thought, knowing full well that that would likely not happen. It would take a miracle to keep anyone from seeing us. I walked over to Winter, jokingly holding out my arm towards her, bowing slightly. "Would you allow me the utmost honor of escorting you to your accommodations this evening?" I asked, feeling like a completely and utter _idiot_ for saying it out loud.

Winter only smiled, letting out a small giggle, the first I'd ever heard from her, before she looped her arm around mine, "Why yes good sir, I will grant you that honor." she said, pulling off an even better aristocratic accent than I could. I just nodded, standing a bit straight and pushing Weiss out the door, Yang and Pyrrha almost seeming to _sense_ that she couldn't be seen, Pyrrha blocking view of her from the street, Yang from the front. Ruby… well she was just being Ruby, yipping around and jumping around by our feet, despite it nearing her bedtime. I just kept walking, feeling my face heat up a bit when Winter adjusted her grip, and I realized that we were doing the old timey equivalent of holding hands… did this still count?

CRASH!

"AH!" Winter said, pulling closer to me, gripping onto my arm as I reached for my waist, looking over towards the nearby alley. I let out a sigh of relief as I noticed a small raccoon scurrying away from an overturned trashcan. "Just a raccoon." I said, turning back forwards and walking, Winter still holding tight to my arm. Other than the stronger blush on my face, I showed no reaction I'd noticed. The second time it happened, this time with just a gust of wind knocking the can over instead of an animal, I spoke up. "Are you scared Winter?" "No… usually I am but… not tonight." she said, standing up straighter as she kept her hands on my arm, leaning against my taller frame slightly as she looked around, keeping her eyes peeled but, with every noise we heard, her reactions got less and less severe, from nearly crushing my arm to just her stopping and looking over.

It took quite a while, as one could imagine with all the stopping, before we finally got to a small apartment building, near the edge of town. "Here we are… home sweet home." Winter said, smiling towards the building as she, almost reluctantly, let go of me, walking towards the structure. When she looked back, standing in the door, I could see the light slipping around her, almost in a royal glow, before she smiled. "I'll see you soon Jaune… thank you." "No problem. Good night Winter." I said, waving towards her as I turned away, me and my pets heading back towards the store as I kept a lookout for any suspicious characters. Strangely though, and this had been the case for the entirety of the walk, the streets were empty. Just… empty. Not a soul in sight.

" _Wonder where everyone is?_ "

…

"Jaune… you are a lucky son of a bitch I'm here."

I muttered as I saw him walking away from the Pale lady, or _Winter_ as Jaune's been calling her. I laid on a nearby rooftop, holding a walkie-talkie in one hand and my familiar rifle in the other, filled with tranquilizer darts today instead of bullets. I looked over, seeing a few people coming from an alley, on a course with Jaune. I held the radio up to my mouth, "Beowolf-one this is Never-more, we've got three drunk tangos heading for the package, stop them in their tracks." I said. I heard radio static for a moment before he confirmed, and a few seconds later I saw a man burst out a door near the three others, bashing the three in the heads with a pipe before pulling them out of view of the street. Jaune only looked over towards the sound, but then shrugged, mostly thanks to the trashcan lids Seven-one had been smart enough to throw around.

I shouldered my rifle and dashed across the rooftops, jumping onto a nearby ledge before swinging myself up onto it, laying flat on the ground as I took out my binoculars, providing overwatch for my men on the ground. I looked around, seeing one clear threat walking towards Jaune and Weiss. That threat being a man with a gun in his jacket, no doubt a part of Vale's mafia group. He was talking over the phone, walking towards Jaune and, clearly, arguing with someone. I held out the walkie talkie. "Ursa-five, sector 2 is code speak-easy." I said, letting him know a mafioso was nearby.

Strangely though, I saw the man grip at his neck, my eyes widening as I saw a small, silver dart stick through his neck, the man falling to the ground. I saw a woman walking forward, dark skinned and dressed in a long blue skirt, as well as a gray button-down shirt. There was some kind of gold marking on her chest, but what _really_ got me worried was on her wrist. A watch. Didn't _seem_ like much, but when I saw her looking at it and muttering something with a disapproving look, I _immediately_ knew we were in trouble. "Ursa-five abort! Huntress in sector 2! I repeat! Huntress in Sector 2!" I said, trying to keep my voice down. Ursa five seemed to hear me, if the sudden retreat of a shadow in the background was anything to go by.

The woman reached beneath her watch, pressing a button as I saw it flip upwards, revealing something within. She grabbed her dart from the man, producing a small cloth from the underside of her watch and cleaning it off before replacing it, jamming the silver dart in her beret. "Nevermore! If she keeps going the way she is she'll-!" "I _know_ that, give me a minute to think." I said, racking my brain for some kind of idea. She was a trained huntress, so no one one ground level could _possibly_ take her down. I looked around, only for my panic to increase. On a nearby rooftop I saw a woman standing up, clad in the familiar garb and white mask.

A white fang spy.

"All grimm! We have a white fang spy and human huntress closing on the package! All grimm mobilize! Try and stay hidden!" I said, making a quick decision as I fired a round at Jaune. He reached up to his neck for a second before he fell to the ground, Pyrrha and Yang sniffing around him as Ruby yipped in a worried tone. I saw time-keeper, the huntress from before, hear the noise, moving over to figure out what was going on. The spy did too, moving in from the side as I fired a dart towards them, only for them to jump over it, looking my direction. " _Shit._ " I thought as I saw them pull out a revolver, aiming right at me. I jumped off the side of the building, gripping onto the edge for a second before I jumped back, landing on the other building. I loaded a different clip, this one with actual bullets, and screwed on a suppressor, kneeling as I aimed around the rooftop.

When I didn't see them I looked back to Jaune, seeing the time-keeper walking towards Jaune, smiling when Ruby jumped up towards her, the woman effortlessly picking her up. " _What're the odds Ruby's cuteness gets us out of this?_ " I thought as I kept looking for the spy, only for static to come in from my radio. "THE SPY! HE'S IN SECTOR TWO HE- ARGGHHH!" "Ursa-five?! Ursa-five do you read?!" I asked, feeling the first spiking of panic as I looked around frantically, trying to find the lone spy. I saw the corpse of Ursa-five, laying dead on the ground before being dragged behind a nearby wall. "All grimm this is nevermore! Beowolf units move in, the spy is behind the brick apartment complex! Repeat! Brick apartment complex! Ursa units move in and secure the package! Shoot-to-kill permissions are granted!" I said, seeing men moving on the sides as I aimed up for the roof.

BOOM!

I jumped back, ducking behind a nearby vent as I saw and heard the concrete explode next to me, a silenced round having buried itself half an inch from my foot. I heard a ting against the metal as I got down, crawling towards the nearby unit as I tried to think of a way out of this. " _Let's see, if I poke my head up, I get shot. If I look towards them, I might get shot… hmm…_ " I thought as I felt my bow rustling against my ears… wait, my bow! I reached up, quickly untying my bow and, with some difficulty, retying it so it stayed on it's own, rather than up by my ears. I held out my rifle barely, holding up the bow from beneath the metal grating.

I immediately felt it get blown back, a hole near the bottom as I dropped the rifle, pretending that he'd killed me. I waited a few seconds before I got back on the radio. "Does anyone have a bead on that sniper?" "Third story, they've lost interest in you Blake." I heard a familiar, somewhat obnoxious, voice say. I sighed, not bothering to answer as I switched frequencies, grabbing my rifle and aiming it towards where Sun -he was the one speaking- had said they were. I saw them, plain as day, aiming right down at little Weiss. I squeezed my grip around the trigger, tighter, tighter, until I felt the gun shudder in my hands. The spy fell backwards, his blood painting the broken glass red. I sat up, aiming down towards the street… only to see the five ursa's we _had_ , well, four of them anyway, all crumbled on the ground, one in a pool of blood, the rest gripping their arms.

She looked up, right towards me as my ears twitched, and I saw her walking towards me. I didn't think as I aimed down, firing without a seconds hesitation. My eyes widened as I saw her hold up her wrist, her watch, or maybe those black gloves, seemingly _absorbing_ the shot. It didn't go through, she wasn't bleeding, and if she was in pain, she was doing a damn good job of hiding it. I fired again and again, until my clip was empty, and I saw her reach into her beret, pulling out one of those darts. I ducked back away from the edge when she threw it, but I noticed there was something else on the back, a small wire, connected to… something.

I figured out what that _something_ was when I saw her suddenly leap up, the wire connected to her watch as she drew her dart, quickly throwing it at me. I dodged it, hearing it thunk in the air duct behind me as I reached down, pulling my pistol from my pants pocket. No time to put a silencer on. I fired twice, the woman deflecting both shots as she rushed me, and I felt a sharp burst of pain across my face. I staggered back, looking down to see her grabbing a dart, about to run it through my neck. I grabbed her hand, my feet being forced back as I felt my back bent over the duct, using all my might just to keep the dart from painting it red in my blood. I didn't speak, neither of us did, knowing that if we gave the enemy a voice, they'd be able to find us. I held out, but I could feel in the girl's stomach and legs pressed against my own that it was a losing fight. "Could really use a miracle about now." I muttered, feeling her blade pressing against my throat.

"Are you ready for a miracle!?"

I heard a loud voice say as the woman was knocked off me, falling back against the roof as I saw a hand held out to me. I looked up, smiling slightly as I saw the familiar face of one Sun Wukong, his monkey tail wrapped around his waist like a belt. He had that same, arrogant smirk he always did, dressed in a white button-down -opened of course- and a pair of ripped jeans. He reached for his belt, pulling out a pair of nunchucks as he spun them around, smirking towards the woman as I took his hand, grabbing my gun in one hand, my knife in the other. We looked towards her, she only glared back at us, particularly sun. I looked down, noticing that there was a small, nearly unnoticeable crack in her watch. Her expression broke into a snarl as she spoke. "You've heard my voice." she said. It was chilling, not because of the words. What they meant.

She was going to kill us no matter what now.

I fired at her twice, her blocking both shots as Sun ran in, hitting his nunchucks against her gloves as she simply deflected the blows a few times, before she simply elbowed him in the stomach. I dashed forward, swinging my knife towards her and firing off a bullet. She blocked the bullet but, not the knife, a small scratch on her cheek. She glared at me as she drew one of her darts, going on the offense as she tried stabbing me, only for Sun to block with his nunchuck. He swing it towards her, but she only grabbed it, leaning in and headbutting Sun as he staggered back. I looked down at my gun, only one bullet left. I aimed down, firing towards her ankle.

"ARGH!" she said, gripping her ankle. As I thought, she couldn't reach down to block it fast enough. I took the opportunity, stabbing down towards her back with my knife, only, she seemed to guess what I was doing. "UGH!" we both grunted as I stepped back, seeing one of those silver darts in my stomach, my knife buried in her back. Sun whacked her over the head with his nunchuck, causing her to stumble backwards, nearing the edge. Then Sun reached down, grabbing a piece of concrete from where the sniper had shot and threw it at the time-keeper, knocking her back over the edge. I took a few steps forward before I fell to the ground, gripping at my stomach. "Yeah, we did it Blake!... Blake? Blake!" Sun said, noticing the dart in my stomach as he dashed over, reaching into his shirt.

"Just hold still okay, I'll get that thing out of you." he said, opening a small, white med-kit and getting out a small piece of thread. He pulled out dart first, causing me to grunt in pain as I laid back, my head against the concrete. I felt my vision getting slightly blurry as the stars seemed to swim in front of me. "Dart… poison…" I said, realizing why she'd _let_ me hit her so easily. I felt my eyes closing of their own accord as Sun tried to say something, but it was like talking to a wall if he was saying it to me. I felt my eyes shut, my breath evening as I let my body relax, the pain from Sun's stitching and attempts to medicate the area only minor stings to me now.

…

"My, what a mess."

I muttered, walking towards the unconscious Jaune and the wounded men, most of them running as I walked towards them. They carried off their dead friend as I felt a drop on my head. I looked up, smiling slightly as I saw the dead mask of a white fang member. " _One less enemy I suppose… unfortunate this victor comes with such great loss._ " I thought, frowning at the dead Ursa, the wounded remaining ones. I saw Ruby running towards me, barking towards my legs and tugging on my pant-leg as Glynda rushed over with her, towards Jaune. I walked over to him as well. "Oh my… how'd this happen?" I said, feigning ignorance as I carefully removed Blake's tranquilizer, not letting the four faunus see me do it.

"Well, I can't leave you like this." I said, reaching beneath Jaune's shoulder and lifting him up… right before I gave up and lifted him over my shoulders in a fireman's carry. I walked over to Weiss's stroller, pushing it along towards my home as I whistled. "Come along girls, let's get your master up and healthy again." I said, the four faunus following me, Yang and Pyrrha somewhat begrudgingly, though Ruby and Glynda did it like second nature. With Glynda, well, because it _was_ , and Ruby since, well, even though she was technically 15, she still _acted_ like a puppy. We walked for awhile down the road, towards the pet-store thankfully, until we came upon a twisting road that lead out towards the woods, the estate I'd managed to purchase with the wealth I'd gained over the years.

Once we were at the front door, Glynda opened it for me, allowing me and the other dogs to walk in. I heard Glynda shut the door back as I walked to the guest bedroom, laying Jaune down before I wheeled Weiss into my study, right beside the guest room. Glynda shut the door, I always did forget to close it when I walked out, before I down in my chair by the fireplace, moving Weiss out in front of me. "You can drop the pet act now girls." I said, seeing Glynda move behind my nearby desk. I waited a few seconds before I saw the blonde, curled hair of Glynda Goodwitch, her eyes piercing green as she looked over at me. I saw her tail snaking upwards, toying gently with my nearby coffee mug as her face burned, glaring at me. I chuckled as I turned away, looking into the fireplace as I heard Glynda rummaging around.

I heard the sound of springs groaning as she spoke, "You can look now." I turned, finding Glynda, still blushing, with the nearby blanket from the couch pulled around her body, her tail laying out next to her as she tightly squeezed her legs together. I stood, walking towards the nearby closet, picking out a much larger blanket, as well as a smaller one, the only ones I had that would really _fit_ the girls in their human states… that is, if they were about the sizes I expected they would be for their ages. I laid them on the back of the couch before I sat down, looking towards the fire. "I know you're faunus girls, Glynda told me all about it. Go ahead and change, we have some things to discuss." I said. I was lying, sort of, Glynda _had_ told me about it when she found out, but I'd kind of figured they weren't normal much earlier. They were too smart to be normal dogs.

"You _told_ him!?" I heard one of them say, no _clue_ who it was, but based on the mature sound I ruled out Ruby. Maybe Pyrrha? Hard to tell when I'd never seen their faces before. I heard the sound of rustling blankets as Glynda, seemingly ignoring the question, spoke up, telling me to turn. I did so, smiling as I saw the three girls. Ruby was sat between Glynda and the other two. What gave it away were the silver eyes, brighter than any I'd ever seen. The eyes of a wolf faunus normally. She was cross-legged, her entire body cocooned in the smaller blanket (ironically) with it pulled over her head like a hood, her tail wagging slightly behind her. She seemed to enjoy the warmth.

The other two were taller, Yang being the blonde one and Pyrrha the redhead if I had to guess, and were more developed in… certain, areas. Which I suppose was to be expected with age. Pyrrha was blushing, crossing her legs tight like Glynda was. Yang, on the other hand, had her arm wrapped around Pyrrha's shoulder, pulling her in closer and smirking slightly. Her legs were spread to the point her right one wasn't under the blanket past her knee, her left pushed right against Pyrrha's. Pyrrha had pulled the blanket up to her nose, while Yang just let it kind of hang there, tucked under her arms. I saw Pyrrha's tail laying on the couch, wagging only slightly. Yang's ears on the other hand, just moving like her chest, as she breathed. "I'm sure you have questions." "Damn right we do." Yang said, her voice more aggressive and blunt than the one I heard earlier. It must've been Pyrrha's. "Well," I said, leaning back against my chair slightly,

"I suppose it's time I give you some answers."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter ten: Lasts and Firsts (yes in that order)

"Blake! Oh sweetie, what happened?!"

I asked, dashing towards the door. Sun Wukong, another grimm agent, had shown up at my door, my daughter carried in his arms. It took her from him, dashing back inside and laying Blake on the couch. "Call the doctor! It's speed-dial one on my scroll!" I said, tossing said object at him. He caught and dialed it, walking away into the nearby room to take the call. I leaned down, grabbing my daughter's hand as I felt the first whips of panic hitting me. She wasn't moving. "Blake, are you okay… Blake, sweetie?... Blakie please, answer me… say something, let me know your okay…" I said, feeling tears gathering. No. NO! Not again! Please! Anyone! Not again! "Mom…" she said.

I leaned down, wrapping my arms around her neck as I let out a sigh of relief, "Oh thank goodness! Blake, just hold on a little longer, the doctor's on his way." I said, leaning back and grabbing her hand. She looked up at me, there were bullets of sweat on her forehead, her pupils seemed larger than usual, her breathing was shallow and rapid. I gulped, " _Oh no… Nightshade…_ " I thought, recognizing the tell-tale symptoms. I leaned down, rubbing a small circle on her wrist, trying to keep her calm. I knew what the next symptom would be. Sure enough, I saw her grip the couch, her breathing getting more rapid as I saw her start trembling, looking up towards the ceiling. "NO! NO! GET AWAY FROM ME! PLEASE! NO!" "Blakie, I want you to listen. Focus on the sound of my voice. Whatever you're seeing, it _isn't real_ , okay? Everything's okay. Everything's okay…" I cooed, gently grabbing her hand.

"Mommy… I'm scared… I don't wanna die…" "Don't say things like that… you're going to be fine." I said, seeing the tears rolling down her face, her pupils widening. I felt tears coming down my own face, but I didn't try and stop them. I just hoped the doctor would be here on time before- "M-My chest… it-AAAH!" "SUN! GET IN HERE!" I yelled, feeling my panic double. Blake had just grabbed at her chest, her eyes rolling back in her head. I knew what that meant, we didn't have _time_ to wait for a doctor. Said monkey faunus ran in the room, tossing my scroll on the counter. "I just got off the phone with the doc! He said he'll be here any-" "I CAME AS QUICK AS I COULD!" I jumped back, looking over as I saw the familiar, spiky green haired doctor burst down the door, running towards Blake. "Oobleck! It's nightshade poisoning! She's already in stage 3!" I yelled, grabbing my daughter's hand as I felt her breaths slowing, it was getting harder for her.

Oobleck nodded, rummaging through his bag for a few seconds before he pulled out a small, black vial. He took a needle and stabbed it through the corked top, drawing out the medicine. He strained Blake's neck slightly, nearly jamming the needle into the side. I saw her limbs grow limp, her eyes dulling as her head rolled to the side. "Blakie? Blake… Blake!" I said, gripping at her wrist. I moved my hand over it, her pulse was there. Weak, but it was there. Oobleck leaned over, placing a hand on Blake's forehead. "She'll recover. Give her a few days and she should be back to normal." he said, packing up his needle in the bag.

I leaned in, lightly cupping my daughter's left cat ear. "Blake… say something." "... Mom… don't touch my ears." she said, her eyes dazed. I smiled down at her, leaning in and wrapping my arms around her neck. I pulled away, pressing my lips on her forehead before I stepped back, letting Oobleck take a look at her. I looked over at Sun, his worried eyes looking over Blake for a few moments before he seemed satisfied, and he turned, walking towards the door. I walked with him, opening the door for him as he stepped out. He wasn't as loud or excitable as usual, giving only a curt nod as he wrapped his tail around his waist, pulling his coat down over it as he stepped out. "Sorry about… you know…" "It's okay." I said, patting him on the shoulder. He stepped out, shutting the door behind him, walking out into the alley. I looked back towards Blake, letting out a sigh,

"If anyone should be apologizing, it's me."

…

"Well? Gonna talk or just stare at us all day?"

Yang asked, glaring over at me as she pulled Pyrrha closer to her, causing the red-head to also be a red-face at the same time. I smiled, reaching behind me and grabbing my familiar coffee mug, taking a sip from it before I spoke. "You've already met my associate, Blake. The cat faunus." I said. Ruby perked up, jerking her head up towards me as I saw her tail stop, sticking straight up behind her. She jumped up, dashing over as suddenly the only thing I could see was her silver eyes. "You're a grimm Mr. Ozpin!?" she asked, her eyes sparkling. I couldn't help but chuckle as Ruby leaned back, still curled up in her blanket, sitting in my lap. I reached over, gently rubbing her tail as she smiled, "I'm the leader of them, in fact." I said.

I looked up, my eyes widening slightly as I saw Yang stand up, growling towards me as she walked over. She looked down, seeing me petting Ruby's tail before she met my eyes. "Get your hands off her." "NO! I uh… it's okay Yang." Ruby said, leaning slightly against me as I kept rubbing her tail. I looked at Yang, the blanket she had wrapped around her falling down just above her knees, the top tucked beneath her shoulders. "Y-Yang…" I heard a quivering voice say. I looked around Yang, seeing Pyrrha wrapping her arms around her chest, one of the couch's throw pillows attempting to cover the rest of her. Granted, it wasn't really working. Thanks to it's small size I could still see most of her body, other than her womanhood and a little bit of her inner thighs. Yang looked over, her face burning as she rubbed a hand behind her head, she let out a sheepish chuckle, "Oops…" she muttered.

Glynda stood, shedding her own blanket and handing it to Pyrrha. All three of the girls looked at her as if she were crazy, but then the blanket fell off and she was revealed to be wearing purple underwear, one's I'd bought just for her a few weeks ago. She sat back next to Pyrrha, pulling her tail into her lap as said girl yelped. She melted after a second, leaning against Glynda as the taller woman pet her tail. We all looked at her for a moment, "What? You can pet Ruby's tail but _I_ can't pet Pyrrha's?" she asked, glaring towards us. I shrugged, looking towards Yang as she seemed to get used to the idea of me petting Ruby. She leaned against the fireplace, crossing her arms in front of her, whether it was to keep the towel from falling or to look more angry at me, I didn't know.

"As I was saying, I'm the leader of the grimm. Codename: SALEM. I'm the one who assigned Ms. Belladonna to infiltrate the pet store." "And kidnap Weiss." Pyrrha said, glaring towards me… though, that glare would be a _bit_ more effective if her face wasn't bright red and her eyes weren't so dazed and unfocused. I nodded, "The woman that now works with Jaune is known by the grimm as 'The Pale Lady'. She is, without question, the most dangerous huntsman to currently walk the face of Remnant. She has no remorse, asks no questions, and kills faunus on sight. She follows orders to the letter and has never once failed an assignment. Now, she's set her sights on Weiss." "Why? WHY!? Why Weiss! Blake kept giving us the runaround, people are dying over her, WHY!?" Yang yelled, glaring at me as, for a brief moment, it looked like her eyes turned red.

"Weiss Schnee is her full name, one of only two known heir's to the Schnee family name. The other is nearing adulthood, and has gone into hiding. Weiss, on the other hand, is _much_ more powerful. You see, the Schnee's have always had something, a trait useful many centuries ago, when the grimm still existed. However, due to it becoming vestigial, most have long since lost the ability." I explained. The girls all looked at one another, raising brows and exchanging confused glances. No doubt not a single one of them knew what I was talking about. I wouldn't blame them, it was hard information to come by, thanks to me anyway. "What ability?" the three of them asked at once. Even _Glynda_ looked somewhat curious as to what it was, considering I'd never actually _told_ her. I only smiled,

"She is one of the last humans alive to have a semblance."

The room went quiet, other than the crackling of the fire, as the four faunus women processed the information they were just given. They looked among each other for awhile before Pyrrha finally decided to break the silence. "What do you mean by, a semblance?" "They vary, depending on the person. Weiss's semblance will be her family's glyphs, the power to create them, harness them, use them. She can summon defeated foes to fight by her side, walk on walls, even stop bullets in mid-air, all by waving her fingers." I explained, smiling as I saw the bewildered expressions on Pyrrha and Glynda, the disbelief on Yang's face, and Ruby… well she had her eyes closed, snuggled up to my chest as I kept petting her tail. "That's impossible, no one could possiblyyy…." Yang said, her eyes widening as she saw my desk start floating.

Glynda had her hand held out, a purple aura around the desk and around her palm as she moved it above them, slowly lowering it in front of me. I reached out, grabbing a pen and spinning it around, right before I set it back. "Perhaps you'll believe me when I say Glynda is _also_ in possession of a semblance." I said, smiling as I drank from my cup, Glynda pushing the table back into place. Pyrrha and Yang looked shocked, Glynda looked smug, Ruby… looked asleep. I reached over, lightly tapping her head, only for her to rub into my shoulder, letting out small, content snores, "Jaaauuune… hehehe…" she said, muttering in her sleep. Pyrrha stood, holding the blanket to her as she walked over, following Ruby's example and wrapping it around her head, though hers was _much_ closer to revealing everything beneath her waist, thanks to her height.

"So… Weiss can do things like that. Little, baby Weiss?" "Well, obviously not at the _moment_ , being as she is but a child. In time however, she will certainly grow strong. Already I have no doubt she possesses some latent power." I explained to Pyrrha, standing up as Glynda levitated Ruby, moving her towards her sister. Yang grabbed her without question, holding her bridal style as she tucked her towel in beneath her arms, like she'd just gotten out of the shower. Glynda walked over, wrapping her arms around my left one. "It's getting late Ozpin. They need some sleep… unlike us." she said, muttering the last sentence, a slight smirk on her face. I felt my own face turn a light pink as I started walking, the girls following me down the hallway. I walked for a few moments before I stopped at a nearby door, one just next door to Jaune. "The three of you can sleep in here, I'd suggest be in your dog states by morning." I said.

They all nodded, walking inside and shutting the door, locking it if the sound was anything to go by. I felt Glynda reaching over, pulling my head back towards her as she smirked, lightly toying with the strap of her bra. "Now that _that's_ settled… I've got a job to do, don't I?" she said. I just nodded, giving her a knowing smile as the two of us walked off towards my bedroom, Glynda locking it behind us, hanging the 'do not disturb' sign.

" _Never though I'd need that old thing… guess I was wrong._ "

…

"Hmmm…"

I groaned, getting up from my place on the bed as I looked down. I saw Yang and Pyrrha on the floor, bodies pressed together with a blanket over them. I stood, " _Breakfast…_ " I thought as I, in a haze, walked towards the door. I stopped, right when I was about to open it. I was naked, what if someone saw? I looked around, smiling when I saw what looked to be a large, red sweater hanging in the nearby closet. "Perfect." I muttered, grabbing it and slipping it on. I looked down, finding that it fell down just above my knees, enough that even if I bent over it would still cover me. I put on a smile, walking out the door and shutting it behind me. I was about to walk off in search of food when I heard it. A faint cry.

I looked around, opening the door right next to the one I came out of to find Weiss crying in her crib, moving her arms about. I frowned as I walked in, picking little Weiss up and holding her against my chest. "Shh shh… don't cry…" I said, smiling down at her as I saw her tears stopping, her eyes gazing up at me with a curious glance. I smiled down at her, leaning in and rubbing my nose against her own. "You don't recognize me huh? Since I'm not a little puppy anymore." I said. I reached over to put her down when I heard something that made my heart skip a beat. And _not_ in a good way. "Umm… hello?" I heard that all too familiar voice sound. I spun around, thankful that I had my tail wrapped around my waist, and felt my face turn beet red as I saw Jaune looking at me. Looking, at _me_. I wasn't a puppy this time, he was seeing the _real_ me. Not. Good.

"Oh! Uhh… I uh, I didn't think anyone else was here! I uh, sorry! I heard her crying and, I couldn't just leave a crying kid and forgive myself! Uh, I…" I rambled, feeling my face heating up more and more as I stepped back, gripping onto the nearby dresser for dear life. Jaune slowly nodded, looking me up and down, clearly confused. "Who are you?" "I'm Ruby! Ruby… uhh…" I looked around frantically, looking for something to make up a last name. I smiled when I saw it, laying in a vase right next to Jaune's bed. "Rose! Ruby Rose! Yeah, hehe, that's it." I said, slowly stepping back towards the door. Jaune stood, picking up Weiss, his eyes clouded in suspicion. I didn't blame him, I mean how much more _suspicious_ can you _get_ then having some random girl come into your room at six in the morning!?

"Are you staying here with Ozpin?" "Yeah, he's myyyyy grandfather! Yeah, hehe." I said, giving a nervous laugh at the end as I started backing up, hoping he wouldn't ask more questions. He raised an eyebrow, no such luck, "You seem kind of… nervous." "Well I uh, always get nervous around cute guys… NO! I mean-! I wasn't supposed-! P-Please forget I said anything!" I said, feeling my face burning bright red as I backed up, opening the door behind me. He held out his hands, giving me that familiar, defusing smile of his. "Socially awkward? I get it, don't worry. Though… the cute thing's a new one." he said, his face tinting red. Meanwhile I felt mine _burning_ red with the fury of a thousand suns as I stepped away, gulping. I stepped back, and he walked out the door with me, giving me a slight smile.

"Nice sweater." "Thanks, I uh, it was my mother's before… before…" I said, trailing off as I tried to think of something that would make sense. Jaune held out his hand, giving me a sympathetic smile, "You don't have to go on, I get it."

"Oh uh! She's not dead."

"Oh well, that's… what I thought you meant. Why were you-"

"I've got a bad memory okay! I was trying to remember when she gave it to me!"

I looked away, only to stiffen as I felt his hand on my shoulder, pinching at the fabric, lifting the whole sweater up slightly. "It's really soft- OW!" Jaune said, jumping back as I swatted his hand away, covering my crotch with my hands as I looked up at him. He raised an eyebrow his eyes asking the unspoken question. "I uh… _oh_ this is embarrassing. I uh… don't really have any… you know…" I looked down, hoping he would get the message. He just raised an eyebrow, even more confused. Guess I forgot he was really dense about this kind of thing. "What do you-" "I MEAN I'M NAKED OKAY!" I yelled, covering my mouth as I heard the yell echoing out through the large, empty foyer we'd somehow walked into. Jaune's eyes widened, his face burning as he looked down at Weiss, likely looking for a distraction.

I stepped back, leaning against the wall as I pulled down on the sweater, both to keep him from seeing my womanhood and, more importantly, my tail. "All the clothes in the wash right?" "Yeah…" I said, answering Jaune with a small smile of my own. He nodded, walking over and gently grabbing my wrist, sending my face into a whole new round of blush. He held out Weiss, his eyes asking the unspoken question of me holding her. I answered by grabbing her, the way I'd seen him do it anyway, and lightly bouncing her. I looked down, freezing as I saw Jaune, who was dressed in a pair of gray pants and a white t-shirt, take off the pants, handing them to me. "Here. They may not be _feminine_ but, you may want something to cover them." he said, giving me a smile as I couldn't help my eyes from trailing downwards.

He was wearing a pair of boxers, about what he always did, the white pair more specifically. I looked further, seeing his toned legs, all hairy, the same legs that wrapped around my own when we slept together. I looked back towards his groin, " _Go ahead, pull them down. See what's inside~_ " I heard a voice in my head say. I took the pants from Jaune with a shaky hand, and he took Weiss with two steady ones. "T-Thanks…" I said meekly, pulling my legs through them as I held my tail up, feeling the soft fabric easing me into the new sense of wearing clothes. I gulped when I felt it hit my waist, I had to suppress my surprise as I smiled at Jaune. " _He was in these last, you can still smell him. Push them inside, feel him inside you~_ " " _AHHH! No! Shut up! Bad voice inside my head! Bad!_ " " _I'm just following the script kid._ "

" _Wait, what script?_ "

"Anyway," Jaune said, dragging me out of my thoughts, "I best take Weiss back to bed. I think she's still sleepy." he said. Sure enough, when I looked down, I heard Weiss yawn, leaning against Jaune, muttering a quiet 'pa-pa' when she did so. I smiled down at her, looking back up at Jaune as he walked away. " _Don't look at his butt. Don't look at his butt. Don't look at his butt._ " I looked anyway, my face burning brighter as I jerked my head up, seeing Jaune smiling nervously back at me. "Maybe you should keep those… not sure I should be in them after a naked girl. That's a little too tempting." he said, chuckling at the end. I joined in with him, chuckling as well until I saw him walk down the hallway. Then I leaned back against the wall, slowly sliding down as I heard that voice in my head again, egging me on.

" _You have_ _ **no**_ _idea._ "

…

"Yang… can I ask you something?"

It had been a few hours since me and Jaune met- face to face- for the first time. I'd gotten breakfast and come back here, finding Yang and Pyrrha both awake when I arrived, both of them laying on the bed. They looked over at me as I walked in, shutting the door behind me, locking it for good measure. "Sure sis, what is it?" she asked, smiling up at me. She probably figured out why I was wearing clothes by now. I gulped, sitting down on the edge of the bed and lightly playing with the end of the sweater, letting my tail fall out from behind it. "Uh… have you ever had a little voice in the back of your head? That tells you to do… uh, 'naughty', things?" I asked, feeling my face flush. Trying to talk about this to my sister was… very, _very_ awkward.

Yang let out a squeal, dashing over and hugging me. "Awww! My baby sister's having her first heat! She's hearing her wild side! Isn't it adorable Pyrrha?" she asked, smiling over at the taller faunus. She nodded, giving me a slight smile. Yang moved in front of me, smiling as she held my hand hands, reaching over and squishing my cheeks with both her hands. "Yang!" I said through my squished cheeks. She let go after a second, and I reached up, rubbing my cheeks as I glared towards her. She only smiled back, "Well? Who was it for? Was it one of the dogs back at the shelter, most of them are faunus, Glynda maybe? She's a hot one if I have to say so. OH! What about Pyrrha?" YANG!" Pyrrha said, her face like her hair.

I gulped, shaking my head, "It's uh… none of those people…" I said, dancing around the question as I looked away. Yang raised an eyebrow, looking over at Pyrrha. Pyrrha sighed, shaking her head, "Oh no…" "Well? Who is it?" Yang asked. Pyrrha'd already figured it out. Yang… well, I guess I had to tell her that much. I gulped, looking around the room, anywhere but my sister's prying eyes, and then spoke. "Jaune?" I said. Yang went silence, her expression seemingly frozen in place, Pyrrha's set in a sort of frown. Then Yang sighed, slowly shaking her head, "Well… can't say I'm surprised. Those are his pants, right?" she asked, gesturing down towards my legs. I looked down, nodding as I reached over, lightly gripping at the excess fabric.

"How do I make it stop?" "Well… there are two ways." Pyrrha said, moving down so that she was right next to me. I looked at her, eyes anxious. How did I _stop_ that voice. Yang smirked as she stood, leaning against the wall, "The most fun way is to have Jaune shove his di-" "YANG!" Pyrrha yelled, pulling me closer to her as I felt her almost caressing my head. I pulled back from her, still wondering what Pyrrha was going to say. She cleared her throat, "The _other_ way to do it, that doesn't involve sex, is to relief yourself with something of Jaune's. That voice… it told you to do something with his pants, right?" "It told me to feel him inside me." I explained, causing her to blush and Yang to nod a few times.

"Pyrrha, lets go dog and give Ruby some 'private time' with those pants." "Wait, what?! What am I supposed to do?!" I asked, looking towards the two of them as they crouched, both of them turning back into their dog states. Though, just before she went into her dog-state, Pyrrha spoke. "Listen to the voice in your head if you want it to stop… at least, for awhile." she said. Then she turned into a German shepherd, bit the door handle open, and walked away. I gulped as I looked down, moving back and laying down on the bed. " _Shove them inside you, feel them riding up, feel him within~" "You are really creepy, you know that?_ " I fired back at the voice as I sighed, doing as it said. My eyes jerked open as my body seemed to have a mind of it's own, ever sensation amplified. I felt my vision go black for a second, a feeling of euphoria through my body,

" _The fun's just beginning._ "

 **Meanwhile**

Yang stood by the crack in the door, listening in. She heard the moving of sheets, her sister's moaning. She sighed, looking towards Pyrrha. "You know how to do laundry? Those pants aren't gonna be clean much longer." she said. Pyrrha sighed, leaning down and rubbing her nose with her paws, looking up towards Yang. Said dog sighed, trotting off towards Jaune's door. At the very _least_ she was going to make sure Jaune didn't see her baby sister masturbating on something of his. She heard Ruby nearly scream as she sighed,

"Okay… what do we do when this relief wears off?"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter eleven: A depressed Ruby and a Red-faced Winter

"What do you think?"

I asked, looking over towards Dr. Oobleck, my expression twisted in worry. I held Ruby still as he placed his stethoscope on her little side, just before taking it off. He shook his head, "She seems to be a perfectly healthy husky puppy Mr. Arc. The tests I ran showed negative for any kind of disease." he said. I frowned, nodding as I let my hand run over Ruby's back. I felt the very reason I'd called Oobleck down in the first place, when Ruby shivered as I ran my hand over her, shrinking away from me. "Perhaps it would be better if you explained what the problem is, no matter how fictitious it may be." Oobleck said. I glared at him for the subtle insult, but my worry immediately went back to the puppy in my arms.

"She's different. Every time I used to pet her… she would always reach up to meet me. When I set her down, she'd jump around my feet, barking up a storm. Now… now she doesn't do any of that. She's quiet… she almost _bit_ me for petting her at one point. Oobleck I _know_ my Ruby, _something_ is wrong with her." I said, glaring at the doctor. I didn't care _how_ many diplomas he had on that wall of his, I _knew_ when something was up with my dogs. Oobleck nodded gravely, lightly stroking Ruby's head. She stilled nudged into his hand… but she seemed so tired about it. Like she was just doing it because she had to. "I agree with you Mr. Arc, something _is_ definitely different. However, from a medical standpoint, Ruby is perfectly healthy." he said.

I nodded, "Alright… thanks for coming Doc." "Don't mention it Mr. Arc. Do tell me if her… condition, improves would you?" he said, and even behind the nearly opaque glasses I could tell he was worried. I just nodded, watching as he walked off, leaving the store. I walked over, locking the door behind him before I started walking towards the back. I felt Yang walk around, nudging at my hand and looking up at Ruby. She barked a few times, "I don't speak dog, but I'm pretty sure Yang's worried about you too Ruby." I said, frowning down at the adorable husky in my arms. She didn't move, she didn't look up at me, lick my face, bark, _anything_. She just laid there, her head down. Her eyes were open, which made me more worried. At least I could explain it as being asleep if her eyes were shut.

I walked into the bedroom, Weiss laying down in her crib, already fast asleep. I sat on the bed, looking down at the little puppy. "Ruby… if only you could talk I could just _ask_ you what was wrong." I muttered, lightly patting her, gentler than I usually did. I was hoping to get some kind of a rise out of her, have her press into my hand. Nope, she just sat there, looking out towards the door as I saw Yang and Pyrrha walk in. Yang nudged her little sister, letting out a low whine. Ruby just moved her paw, gently swiping at Yang's nose. Pyrrha didn't do anything, just sat down. I'd never seen a dog look as sad as Pyrrha did in that moment. "I'll take you to a thousand vets, they'll all say you're fine… but you're not. What's the matter girl?" I asked, reaching down and holding her up, hoping she might at _least_ yip or back at me.

She didn't even _look_ at me. She looked away, and no matter where I moved, she refused to meet my eyes with her puppy ones. She let out a low whimper after a minute, and I just set her on the floor. I watched her slowly and solemnly make her way into her cage, shutting the door behind her with her paw, curling up into a little ball of fur. I frowned at her, looking over towards Yang and Pyrrha. "Do you two know what's wrong with her?" I asked, not expecting an answer. Pyrrha laid her head in my lap, as if trying to cheer my up, while Yang walked over, seemingly trying to coax her sister out of her cage. I pet Pyrrha's ears, frowning over towards her. "I'm still worried… that's it, I'm calling Ren." I said, leaning over and grabbing my scroll. I dialed the familiar number, knowing that Ren would still be awake despite the late hours. Ren didn't have to work tomorrow after all, being it was a national holiday.

"Jaune? Wha- NORA! DOWN!" I heard the familiar voice say on the other end of the line, the sound of something glass shattering, a loud barking coming from the other end as I pictured Ren wrestling with the giant St. Bernard for his scroll. After a minute it seemed to calm down, and Ren spoke up. "What is it?" "Hey… has Nora ever been… strange, around you? Like… she didn't want anything to do with you?" I asked, looking over towards Ruby's cage. That _did_ seem like what was happening… maybe it was me? Was I doing something she didn't like? That I shouldn't be doing? I heard Ren mulling it over, Nora still barking in the background. "Well… now that I think of it, yeah. Once anyway. It was during a _really_ busy week at work, a few years back. Nora just… gave up. She stopped being energetic, jumping towards me. Hell she basically _avoided_ me if it was possible." he explained.

I nodded, sounded like what was happening with Ruby. "How did you deal with it?" I asked. He'd dealt with it before, thankfully. Maybe he'd have an answer? I really hoped he didn't say 'wait for it to pass'. I didn't think I could stand to just _watch_ Ruby act like this and do nothing over it. "Simple. I played with her. I think what happened was she got lonely from me working so long. So I took her out to the park and, you know, made a day of it. Maybe Ruby's feeling neglected recently?" he suggested. I was about to refute him on that, how I spent so much time with her… then I stopped, frowning as I looked down. I mean… I _had_ been spending a lot less time with her recently, to take care of Weiss, deal with Winter and Blake. It may not have been my fault but… she wouldn't know that, she was just a puppy. I nodded, "Yeah… thanks for the help Ren." "Any- NORA! NO! BAD GIRL!" I heard the sound of glass shattering again.

" _Why does he even BUY glass things with that wrecking ball in the house?_ " I thought with a wry smile before I ended the call, hearing something of a struggle between him and the larger dog. I looked over towards Ruby, that smile turning into a frown. I nodded to myself, my eyes hardening in determination. " _I'll ask around, see if someone can watch the store. I think Ruby needs my full attention for this to work._ " I thought. I looked down at my scroll, trying to think who I could call. Blake? Well… according to her mother, last I'd called her, she'd been sick with something. So that was out. Ren? No, Weiss didn't seem to warm up that well to him, not to _mention_ he'd bring Nora and… no, I didn't want to call someone to repair _more_ shelves that St. Bernard broke. Yatsuhashi? Ozpin? Oobleck? All had the same problem, even Blake.

Weiss didn't like them.

I looked up at the child in the crib, seeing her peacefully sleeping away. I couldn't help but smile at her, that smile turning into a frown. " _Who could watch you instead of me? Who did you warm up to?_ " I thought. I mean, she reached for me when Blake held her, Ren never held her (and she'd kind of shied away when he tried) and she'd never even _met_ the other people I listed for longer than a few minutes, if at all. I let my head fall in my hands as I sighed, trying to think of someone, _anyone_ that Weiss might be open to. I looked around, "If only you had a mother… mother… mama… THAT'S IT!" I yelled, jumping up, grabbing my scroll. How did I _forget_? There was _one_ person that Weiss had warmed up to, almost as much as me.

Winter.

I dialed the number, holding up the scroll and hoping, praying to any and every god that existed in the world that she would pick up, and hopefully not have plans tomorrow. I was panicking at the last dial when finally it clicked. "Hello?" I heard Winter ask. I felt my face flush with relief as I smiled, landing back down on the bed. Now came the part about convincing her. "It's me Winter, Jaune. Listen, I know the store isn't open tomorrow but, I need someone to watch Weiss." "I'll do it." she said quickly. I leaned back, raising an eyebrow at the scroll. That was… easy. That was, surprisingly easy. Did she really not have plans or anything? "Okay… that was, much easier than expected." "I'll watch Weiss for you. Can I ask why though?" she responded, her voice turning inquisitive.

I started explaining the situation, about how Ruby seemed so disheartened lately, how Ren suggested playing with her, how she was the only one Weiss seemed to warm up to. "So, you see what I'm trying to do here?" "Yeah… you're a nice guy Jaune. Doing all this for a pet. I've gotta go, I hope this works." she said, her voice sounding genuinely sad at the last line. I was about to say something when I heard the familiar click. Winter ended the call. I nodded, frowning towards the pup that was sleeping in the corner of the room. Yang and Pyrrha had long since walked out, heading for their own cages. I shut the door, not bothering to lock Ruby's cage or any of the other's as I undressed, setting my clothes off to the sides.

"Me too Winter… me too."

…

There was no yipping tonight.

There was no sounds of a puppy moving, trying to get around. Even so, me and Yang stood from our dog bed, going into our human states and opening the door. I walked in, knowing Jaune was asleep, and leaned down, opening Ruby's cage. I pulled her out, holding her up as I saw her look at me, her silver eyes adorable even now. I walked out into the front, shutting the door behind us as I set her on the dog bed. "Ruby… please talk to us." I said, frowning down at the little pup. I saw Ruby shut her eyes, morphing into her human state and sitting on the bed. I'd never seen her look so sad. "I don't wanna." she said, looking away from his, curling her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. I gave Yang a look, and she realized what I was getting at. She sat down on Ruby's left, while I sat down on Ruby's right.

"What's wrong sis?" "... I don't wanna talk about it, okay?" she said, looking down at her feet as I saw small tears gathering at the edges of her eyes. I couldn't take it anymore. I leaned over, placing a hand on Ruby's shoulder, giving her a small smile. "Ruby… I don't know what's wrong, but you can talk to us. We're here for you, right Yang?" "Yeah. We want to help you." she said, placing her hand on her younger sister's other shoulder. Ruby looked down, her hair casting her eyes into shadows. Even that wasn't enough, not enough to hide the tear that fell from her eyes. "You… you remember what you said? About how to make the voice stop?" she said, shaking slightly. I just nodded. I had a bad feeling I knew where this was going. Yang, on the other hand, didn't have my intuition. "Yeah? What about it sis?"

"You were wrong."

I raised an eyebrow, but she kept speaking before I could ask. "It didn't make it stop… it just made it worse. It's all I can think about… but then, it started saying other things. About how I could never be… be…" she inhaled sharply, letting out a small sob as I saw tears start flowing. I leaned over, wrapping my arms around Ruby. She didn't question it, leaning over, letting her legs down and sobbing into my shoulder. I just sat there, gently running a hand through her hair, trying to calm her down. "Shh shh… it's okay Ruby… it's okay…" I said, leaning back against the wall as Ruby leaned closer, Yang just sitting there on the side, frowning towards us. I could tell she wanted to say something, do something… she just didn't know what. Neither did I, not really.

All I could do was hold her, whispering gentle words into her ear, holding her tight as I waited for her to cry herself out. After a few minutes she went from drenching my shoulder to a light sprinkle. I pulled her back, finding her sniffing once every few seconds."Feel any better?" "No… I just can't cry anymore." she said, her eyes still filled with heartache and pain. I pulled her back, Yang and I both hugging her again as Ruby scrunched up lower, looking down at her feet. "That voice… it's right. I can never be with Jaune… not the way I want to be. Not at _all_. He's human… I'm not…" she said, sniffing. Yang looked over at me, raising an eyebrow. I knew she'd never experienced it in her life. I could tell by the look. I had. I knew exactly what was going on. It wasn't just a first heat crush on Jaune. It wasn't just a flyover thing. Ruby was going through the same thing I had, the same thing I was _still_ going through.

"You love him, don't you?"

Ruby just nodded, laying her head in her knees. "How long?" "I don't remember… I can't remember a time I didn't." she replied, sniffing slightly as she looked out at the wall. I frowned as I sat back, looking away from her for a second. Normally when a faunus goes into heat, it passes quickly, once they relief themselves or actual mate with whoever they want to mate with. If Yang or me went into heat for Jaune, we'd be just fine after masturbating in his clothes. We'd be just fine if we could convince him to kiss us. The wild side would be satisfied for awhile, and then call again.

Ruby was different.

It wasn't just some attraction of the season. The years of secretly sleeping with Jaune, having him dote on and love her… it made her love him right back. Not the way me and Yang did, in a brother/father sort of way. She loved Jaune, and I could tell by looking at her this wasn't something she'd easily forget. "I don't know what to tell you sis…" "I do." I said, my eyes hardening in determination as I stood. The two girls looked up at me, Yang confused, but Ruby hopeful. "Ruby, I can't _stand_ to see something so tragic. You falling in love with Jaune when he can never accept you. We're going to get you and Jaune together, right Yang?" I asked, giving her a menacing glare, but keeping the smile. She just nodded, knowing better than to question me when I was on a form of tirade. "It's going to be difficult, borderline impossible even, but mark my words Ruby!" I said, smiling at her.

"We're going to get him to love you!"

…

"Someone seems excited."

I said, smiling down as I saw the little puppy seated at the end of my bed. I stood, throwing on some clothes before I reached over, picking her up. She was still a bit more reserved than usual, but some of her usual spark had come back. Maybe she was just having a bad week? Or maybe she could tell what we were doing? I didn't really care, we were doing it anyway. I started walking towards the door, smiling when it opened. "Thanks for doing this Winter." "Any time. I hope you feel better soon Ruby!" she said, smiling down and gently petting the little puppy. Ruby seemed open to it, to an extent, rubbing against Winter's hand a bit. Still nowhere _near_ as much as she did normally. Winter frowned, "Wow… you weren't kidding." "I know right? I'll be back in a few hours." I said, giving her a smile as I turned around, walking towards the doors.

It wasn't that long of a walk, just down the street a ways. I decided against putting a collar on Ruby. I was trying to make her feel better, not worse. That being said, I _did_ pack a few things for her, to help cheer her up. It only took a few minutes to get to the park, and it was no surprise that I saw a few people there. Most of them were walking around, most of them in pairs. I walked to the nearby bench, sitting Ruby down before I reached behind me. "Oh Ruby~" I said, giving her a bright smile as I held up a bright, red ball. She jumped up, yipping at it as I wound my arm back. "FETCH!" I yelled, throwing it towards the center of the park. She dashed after it as I grabbed my things, following her. I hadn't played a game of fetch with her since Weiss showed up. " _I need to play with her more, she's still a puppy._ " I thought.

I ran towards the center of the park after her, smiling as I saw her run back, dropping the ball at my feet, looking up at me and panting slightly. At least she was _looking_ like her old self again. "Good girl! Come on girl, you want the ball? Who wants the ball? You want the ball? Go get it!" I yelled, slipping into that baby voice I always tended to use for her and Weiss as I threw the ball off towards the woods, Ruby yipping her head off and chasing after it. I took a few breaths, stretching slightly as I tried to recover. I knew I couldn't keep up with the limitless ball of energy known as Ruby. "Having a day with the dog?" I heard a familiar voice say. I looked over, nodding towards the woman rolling by on a skateboard, the familiar green hair and green eyes gazing over at me. I nodded, "Yeah. She's been a little lonely lately so, I figured I should spend some time with her." I said.

She nodded, walking over and sitting down on a nearby bench, grabbing out what looked like a rag, wiping off her skateboard. "How's your niece been?" "My… oh, Weiss. Hehe. yeah, she's been alright. Still waiting for her to take her first steps though." I said. I'd read somewhere, and Ren had told me, that most children start walking around 14 to 16 months old. Well _Weiss_ was almost two years old, and not one step… maybe she could walk and just didn't? Maybe it was since I held her all the time… huh. "Where is the little bundle of joy anyway?" Reese asked as I walked over, sitting down and waiting on Ruby to run back. I would run after her, but it would be rather rude of me to just _leave_ in the middle of a conversation. "Oh, she's with a… babysitter, I guess. One of my employees…"

"I wonder how they're doing?"

…

" _Oh this just keeps getting BETTER and BETTER_."

I thought sarcastically as I sat behind the counter, talking with someone that had just walked in the door. He had magenta eyes, long brown hair, and what seemed to be a green shirt and ripped blue jeans on. He'd walked in with a large St. Bernard, one that Pyrrha immediately walked over to. Considering how he'd waltzed in the locked door, and had a key apparently, I assumed he was one of Jaune's friends. He raised an eyebrow at my face, no doubt seeing how red it was. "Uh… are you okay?" "FINE! I'm fine. Is there… any reason you're here?" I asked, trying to keep my face from being even brighter. That dog of Jaune's, Yang, I _swore_ she had it in for me. With all that she'd done to screw me over, I was surprised she wasn't attacking me right now. I just held Weiss, looking up towards the man, " _Please don't walk behind the counter…_ " I prayed, trying to comprehend how this all happened so fast.

… (this is a flashback, not a POV change)

" _Okay Jaune, what've you left for me?_ " I thought as I walked over to the front, locking the door behind him, flipping the sign to closed. I turned around, walking behind the counter and picking up a piece of paper, a list of things to do Jaune had written down. "' _Feed all the dogs around Noon and Six' okay, seems pretty standard. 'Don't let Weiss outside or in plain view of the front door.'. Okay, he's still following my instructions about that. 'If you wore a skirt, stay away from Yang.'... huh?_ " I thought, raising an eyebrow at that one. I mean, I _had_ worn a skirt today, along with a white t-shirt thanks to the weather, but what did that have to do with Yang? I tried to ignore it, flipping the paper over to see if there was anything else. There was one thing.

"If your clothes get damaged you can borrow mine? Why would… what?" I muttered, my face twisted in confusion as I tried to think of _why_ my clothes would possibly be damaged. Maybe in case some of the dogs got too aggressive when I was feeding them? Then there was that warning about Yang… I looked over at the blonde dhole, seeing her snuggled up on her dog bed next to Pyrrha, both of them seemingly asleep, with Pyrrha's head on her paws. " _I better keep an eye out for that dog._ " I thought. Jaune might have been a little off sometimes, but he _certainly_ wasn't crazy. I set the paper back down, looking over and picking up Weiss from her little crib. She was just looking up at me, holding up her hands. "Ma-ma!" she said, letting out those adorable little giggles as I held her.

Then, she said something else, frowning. "Hung-ee!" "Huh?" I asked, looking down, raising an eyebrow at the little girl. She just kept repeating it, eventually it escalating into crying. Then I realized, "Wait… UH! Stupid! She's _hungry_!" I said, face palming as I realized the obvious answer to the problem. I set her down in her cabinet crib, dashing into the backroom. I practically turned the room upside down looking for Weiss's formula, and when I eventually found it, I wasted _no_ time in preparing it, setting it down in the microwave… I wondered briefly why it was so high up, since I had to tip-toe to set the formula in there. "There we g-EEH!" I yelped, feeling something against my rear. I turned, my face flushing slightly as I saw Yang, the blonde hair was a dead giveaway, sniffing up my skirt. She seemed to like the scent, since the very next thing she did was bite down on it.

"NO! Yang! Let GO!" I said, grunting as I grabbed the edge, the dog pulling back on the fabric with all her might. I pulled back, glaring at the mutt. I was the PALE LADY! I was _not_ about to let some mongrel make a fool of me! "Ma-ma! Hung-ee!" I heard Weiss say through her cries. I lost focus for a second, and that was all Yang needed to dash away, taking my skirt with her. "Hey! Get-" BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! "Oh for fu- I'll get you for this later!" I said, grabbing Weiss's formula and dashing back to the crying girl, trying to ignore the fact I was walking in plain view of the store in my snowflake-print panties. I sat on the stool, pulling Weiss up and sitting her down on my thigh, feeding her the bottle. She took it without hesitation, leaning against my stomach as she suckled on the bottle.

She was done after a minute, but still crying. " _How many bottles does she need?_ " I thought. Right now I was regretting Jaune hadn't specified care on Weiss… oh well, she was my sister, how many bottles did _I_ used to drink? The answer was three… maybe Weiss would drink the same? I dashed back in, reaching over and grabbing two bottles of formula, only to yelp as I felt a stab against my behind. I turned, glaring as I saw Yang biting on gently to me, but _much_ more roughly on my underwear. " _Uh, I don't have TIME for this!_ " I thought as I leaned back, swatting Yang behind the ear. This got her to loosen up, falling back as I pulled my panties back up, dashing to the microwave and preparing the formula. Just as I set them in I felt a sudden draft against my rear, a force hitting it.

I looked down, "KYA! YANG!" I yelled, feeling my face burn as I pulled down on my shirt, hoping to cover my bare body. I saw the dog at the door, and I _swore_ that dog had the biggest smirk on her face, her tail wagging back and forth as she held my underwear like a trophy. I heard the microwave beeping as I turned around, "You want them? Fine, I've got a baby to take care of." I said, grabbing the bottles and, swallowing my humiliation at the hand of the dog for a second, walked into the front, holding Weiss in my arms and feeding her again. " _Thank the gods for this high counter_." I thought, as it allowed me to preserve _some_ of my dignity. Once Weiss was done she smiled up at me, snuggling against my chest as I cradled her. "Ma-ma." she said. I couldn't help but smile when she said that, despite it not being true in the slightest. There was just something so _endearing_ about the little girl calling me her mother.

I just held her close for a few seconds, before she squirmed, pointing down towards the ground. "You… you want down?" I asked. She didn't seem to understand, only pointing again, struggling against me. I complied, gently setting the girl on the ground, stepping down and leaning over so I could watch her. I saw her crawl towards the dog bed, which still housed Pyrrha, Yang having taken my skirt and panties, dashing through the to the adoption center. Weiss crawled on the bed, patting Pyrrha. "Pi-wa! Pi-wa!" she said, moving her arms around the dog's head. Pyrrha seemed to smile, leaning back and lightly licking at Weiss's face. Weiss giggled, she seemed to like it. She grabbed big tufts of Pyrrha's fur, stroking them. The German shepherd seemed to enjoy the attention too, just laying there, occasionally moving her tail around so Weiss could stroke it.

After a minute she crawled back over to me, moving against my bare leg and reaching up, smiling at me. "Ma-ma!" "Okay sweetie, mama's got you." I said, not really thinking about it as I lifted her up, hoisting her in my arms. I saw Yang finally come back, not carrying my clothes unfortunately, and lay down beneath us, a few inches in front of my feet. She was smarter than I gave her credit for, since I couldn't lean over and kick her that hard without getting off the stool. I was half tempted to… " _No, Jaune would probably catch it if I cut some of his dog's hair off._ " I thought. Then I heard the tapping on the glass. I looked up, face burning as I saw a man standing there, a big St. Bernard next to him.

… **(a/n- this (rather obviously) means the end of the flashback)**

"EEP!"

I yelped, stopping myself from doing much more as I felt my face burning red. I struggled to keep from shouting as I reached down, moving my legs and kicking against the dog near my lap as hard as I could. "Are you sure you're okay?" "Y-yes s-sir… I'm fiiiinee." I said, trying to disguise the obvious moan through my words. I couldn't kick her hard enough, so I resorted to prodding around her ears, trying to find _some_ kind of weak point to knock her down. The man nodded slowly, holding out his hand. "Lie Ren." "M-Maria… Maria Looong." I said, trying to subtly punch the crap out of Yang until she stopped doing… well, what was making it _very_ hard and awkward right now.

We shook hands, Lie… or Ren, whatever he went by, pulling back and nodding, the St. Bernard leaning over and licking his hand. He reached down, gently petting his dog before turning back to me. "Where's Jaune?" "The pa-ark. He took R-Ruby out for a daaay!" I said, gripping the glass counter with one hand, holding up Weiss with the other. He raised an eyebrow at me before he nodded, turning away, he pet Nora, walking away from me. "Oookay… thanks for telling me. I'm… gonna leave now." "Goodbye." I said, watching him shut and lock the door from the outside. Once I was sure he was gone I laid Weiss on the counter, about to slam my hands onto Yang. Only, before I could I saw Pyrrha dash over, biting on yang's neck and pulling her back, the German shepherd pulling the hound to the floor.

I sighed, " _Thank_ you Pyrrha. Now… I uh, better clean off this stool." I said, standing up and walking into the bedroom, hoping to go into the bathroom over and find a rag… and maybe some actual pants come to think of it. When I walked in, I noticed _immediately_ that there was something in the hamper, two things actually, that would be helpful. One of them was a towel, which I didn't hesitate to rub my inner thighs with. I'd have to rub the stool down with it in a second. The other thing? A pair of gray pants, likely made for sleeping. " _Well, he did say if mine get damaged I could borrow his_ …" I thought as I, a blushing mess, pulled the pants on. I stopped when I felt them close around me, one thought going through my head.

" _Why are they so stiff?_ "

…

The second Winter went into the other room, I bit down on what little scruff Yang had on her neck, jerking her towards the adoption center. When we were inside, I shut the door, morphing into my human state as I glared down at Yang. I locked the door as Yang went human, looking up at me. "Yang… you can't even _begin_ to… I'm just so… you're sleeping in your cage tonight." I said, giving up on the tirade and just saying what would get to her. Her eyes widened as she walked over, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "What!? Pyrrha! Pyrrha? Come on, it was just a joke! That's all! Look, I won't do it again okay? Okay? Well? Come on! Say something!" Yang said, her eyes suddenly a bit fearful as I just glared at her, my arms crossed over my chest. She frowned, but then she smirked.

"Ooooh. I get it. You're jealous right? You wanted to have me do that to _you_ right? I can still do it you know~" "Go ahead." I said. Yang froze, her ears going rigid as I saw her cheeks burn. She looked up at me, her mouth slightly wide as she looked me up and down, her blush only growing. I kept a stone cold expression as she asked me to repeat myself. "Go ahead. Get on your knees and lick. Right here, right now." I said, suppressing the blush that came with the statement. I was trying to teach her a lesson, I couldn't do that if she _knew_ I was embarrassed. She gulped, slowly getting on her knees, walking over to me. I saw her face burning bright as she shut her eyes, moving closer.

"Wha?" uuuuntil I stepped over to the right, letting her lips meet with the wall instead of my womanhood. I reached over, pulling her up, "Pyrrha! Come oooon! You can't just tease me like that! Let me lick you!" she said, leaning closer, her face burning as I saw her frown at me. I let my own blush show through at that statement -I hadn't realized she was looking _forward_ to it- but I kept that straight face as I answered her. Almost without thinking. "You stop being mean to Winter, I _might_ let you." I said. She blushed at that, then leaned over and, surprisingly, kissed me on the cheek, turning back into her dog state. I couldn't help but smile through the blush bomb that just went off on my cheeks as I did the same.

" _Ironic, she wanted to tease me and I ended up teasing her._ "


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter twelve: The Runaway

"Something's wrong."

I said, standing up, looking around, feeling the first seeds of unease sowing themselves in my mind. Reese looked over at me, raising an eyebrow. "RUBY! HERE GIRL!" I yelled, walking off in the general direction I'd thrown the ball, carrying my stuff with me. It'd been almost twenty minutes according to the chimes of the cities bell (it'd been near 3:40 when I sat down to talk with Reese). It _never_ took Ruby that long to find a ball and come back. I looked around, feeling the hot whips of panic start lashing across my back as I scanned my surroundings. Not a sign of the little puppy, not even the yipping that would signal she was in distress. I walked up a nearby hill, "RUBY!?" I yelled, looking around. I saw something, something I really _hadn't_ wanted to see. The familiar, red ball Ruby was playing with, lying unattended on the ground nearby. There wasn't even any slobber on it, only the old teeth markings and claw marks. I dashed over, picking it up. It wasn't even _warm_.

"Ruby… RUBY!" I yelled, looking around wildly, running towards the woods. I stopped at the edge, whipping my head around as my eyes widened. No tracks, no yipping. Nothing. Ruby was just… gone. "Woah! Jaune, what's going on?" "I can't find Ruby! Oh no! I knew should've put a collar on her! Where'd she go!? What if someone took her! What if she ran away!?" I felt my breathing picking up as I looked around, my vision started blurring. I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder as I whipped around, seeing Reese lightly pushing me down, making me sit against the tree. "Eeeeasy buddy, deep breaths. Let's calm down, panicking won't get us anywhere." she said, keeping those calm eyes locked onto mine. Guess that came with being a police officer huh?

"Let's think about it alright? Ruby's got those cute, stubby little legs right? She can't have gone far. Let's just have a look around alright? Maybe she uh… saw something shiny! Or uh… got distracted by another dog! Yeah… there's plenty of reasons why she might not be here. Let's just look around a little." she said, smiling down at me. I nodded a few times, reaching up and wiping at my eyes, clearing up the panicked tears I'd almost shed. I stood, walking around as I tried to keep calm. She'd turn up soon… we'd find her and I could spend the whole day with her, just like I said I would… right? I walked over the hill, "I'll ask a few park-ranger friends of mine to help look, just head along the paths and keep an eye out for her. We'll find her, okay?" she said, smiling up at me. I nodded, giving her that same smile back. I started walking, frowning the second I stepped away from Reese

"Ruby… where are you?"

…

" _He'll never care about us that way. We're just his pet._ "

I felt a whimper building in my throat as I pushed the ball away, walking off to the side. The voice had been tormenting me again, continually telling me how Jaune could never love me. Despite Pyrrha's words… I felt like the voice was right. How could Jaune care about me _that_ way? I was just a puppy to him, a little dog to pet and love… but never in the way I wanted him to. I kept walking, coming over a nearby hill as I plopped down, setting my head on my paws as I let my eyes gaze around. I saw a group of children playing nearby, all of them running around, laughing, having fun. There was a woman sitting a few feet away on a bench, watching them and smiling. She had light blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, gently moving about the children, never once looking away. She had a kind smile on her face, a long, light orange dress on her body, her hair done up in a bun. I'd not known my mother for long, but this woman just _looked_ motherly, in every sense of the word.

Though, I noticed there was one child not playing with the others. She was all on her own, leaning against a tree, her arms wrapped around her knees. Next to her was a backpack, not with the other twenty or so that the nearby children had lined up against the outer fence. I looked back, seeing Jaune talking with the woman, Reese. " _He doesn't care about you, he'd sooner talk to that pretty girl right there. Watch, they'll kiss in just a second_." she heard the voice in her head say. She was just thinking how ridiculous it was when it happened. It _actually_ happened. Jaune leaned in closer, the two of them meeting in what Ruby could only guess was a kiss.

 **(what** _ **actually**_ **happened)**

"Ow! Ow!" "Reese!? What's wrong?" I asked, reaching over. She blinked a few times, pointing at her eye, I reached over, placing my hands on her shoulders as I leaned in, looking closer. She wiped at her eye as I did the same, gently moving my finger around before sitting back. "Better?" "Better, thanks Jaune."

 **(back to Ruby)**

I turned away, my heart shattered, as I started walking down towards the little girl. Her eyes a strange mixture of pink and brown, the same color as her hair (though her hair _did_ have a small strand of white in there). The girl's face was twisted into a frown as she watched the grass, swaying back and forth in the wind, her hair doing the same. I frowned, she looked so alone… " _I wonder why no one else is playing with her?_ " I thought as I started walking towards her, trying to get a closer look. I saw one of the kids throw what seemed to be a small ball towards the young girl, landing right in front of her. He walked over, only to freeze whenever the girl looked up at him.

The girl just gazed at him, slowly turning her eyes back to the ball as the boy, his eyes full of fear, slowly reached down, picking it up before slowly backing away. The girl kept watching him until he turned behind the tree, running full speed back towards his friends. I frowned… well, as much as I could in my puppy form anyway, and started walking towards her again. I was only a few feet away, but she gave me no indication she'd seen me. No watching me, no asking who's I was, no nothing. She just… sat there. Staring off into space. I slowly padded over to her, to the point I was right next to her. "YIP!" I barked, hoping to get her attention. She slowly turned her head towards me, her eyes both flashing white as she looked down. She didn't smile though, keeping that same blank expression on her face as she turned back around.

I walked over, rubbing against her ankle, exposed by her shorts due to the somewhat cool weather. She looked down at me, lightly pushing me away with her hand. I felt confusion hitting me, " _Huh… no one's ever denied my request for petting… is she okay?_ " I thought. I tried again, only to get the same result. I was about to try and third time before I had a better idea, walking around to the other side. I squatted down slightly before I jumped up, the girls eyes widening in alarm as I landed where I guessed her lap would be. She stretched out her legs as I settled down, making myself as adorably small and snowball-like as possible. " _Come on, pet me! You know you want to! Cheer up!_ " I thought, trying to convey that as I shut my eyes, rubbing into my own tail.

It seemed to work, since I felt a hand gently placing itself on my back a second later. I opened my eyes, smiling (again, as best I could) up at the girl as she slowly ran her hand along my back, her face cracking into a small smile. I stayed like that for a few seconds until she moved her hand away. At that point I padded along her legs, reaching up towards her stomach as I noticed just how short she must've been. I mean, if I was in her lap and could reach her face to lick her little cheeks… well, I'd never known anyone _that_ small. She shut her eyes and smiled wider, the faintest hint of a chuckle coming out of her as she rubbed my head, pulling me back down. I saw one of the other children walking over, the young girl whose lap I was in setting me down behind her backpack.

The other child, a guy from the looks of it, just looked down at the odd-eyed one I'd been petting. "Hey… a new game's about to start." they said, smiling down at the girl. She looked back blankly, no indication she'd changed anything except that one of her eyes was brown now, the other pink. The boy started shifting on his feet as he looked around, seemingly trying to think of his next words. "We uh… we'd like you to play Ice Cream." the second he said that he covered his mouth with both hands, a few of the other children looking over at him, all of them freezing. Ice Cream, apparently that was a nickname of hers, looked at the ground, her eyes cast in shadows as she clenched her hands into little fists. The boy started backing up, "I-I didn't mean that! F-Forget I said anything! Sorry! You can do what you want! Bye!" he said, turning around and full on _sprinting_ back towards the safety of the children.

Ice Cream sighed, looking off to the right as the children, the threat seemingly past, resumed their game. I turned, looking over at Neo. She looked down at me, both her eyes brown, but turning white again when she smiled at me. She held out her hands, and I was all too happy to jump towards them, letting her hold me up for a second before cradling me in her arms, running a hand along my back. I smiled, " _She's doing it just like Jaune… like… Jaune…_ " I shook my head, trying to ignore it and just focus on the sensation of being pet like I usually did… it wasn't working. " _You are such a handful… but you are SO worth it._ " I could almost hear Jaune's voice saying in my head as I shut my eyes. That made it worse, now I could almost _see_ Jaune's smiling face.

" _You know what day it is Ruby, go get your sister!_ " I heard his voice say, the same thing he'd say every Saturday morning. I could help the small tears that fell from my eyes, the slight whimpering. Ice Cream, fortunately, seemed to sense this, pulling her hand back and setting me in her lap, rubbing her hand along me. I smiled again, at least Jaune didn't do this anywhere near as often. "KIIIDS! IT'S TIME TO GOOO!" I heard a loud, slightly deep voice say. Ice Cream pouted down at me, a pout that made me reach up and lick her cheek once again. She smiled down at me, but pulled me away from her, standing up and stretching. I looked back towards the hill, frowning as I remembered Jaune and Reese kissing **(a/n- you know, that thing that didn't happen?)**. I padded over, curling up in Ice Cream's backpack as she hoisted it up, zipping it shut as I closed my eyes. Maybe some time away would get the voice to stop.

" _He probably won't miss me anyway._ "

…

"DAMNIT!"

I yelled, punching the nearby tree as I sunk down, my head falling in my hands, tears threatening to fall. Hours. We'd been searching for _hours_. No footprints, no fur, no Ruby. She'd _vanished_. Or, it would be more accurate to say, she'd been taken. "Jaune… I'm sorry. We'll find her. She's out there somewhere. I'll file a report for a missing pet for you, just go home." "NO! I can't… I can't go back until I _know_ she's okay!" I said, glaring up at Reese. She just sighed, getting down on a knee next to me. She placed a hand on my shoulder, her eyes meeting mine. "Jaune… I understand how hard it must be. Leaving something you care about so much. But please listen to me… you can't help Ruby at all by staying out here. She's _not_ in the park, we've looked everywhere. She must be in Vale somewhere… she's a smart dog, maybe she'll have found her way home by now even." Reese said, trying to cheer me up.

It wasn't working.

"This is all my fault… I should've put a collar on her… I should've paid more attention to her… it's all my fault…" I whispered, feeling tears starting to flow down my cheeks. I didn't try and stop them. I'd lost her… I'd lost Ruby. The little snowball I'd had for so long brightening up my day… she'd never shine again… at least, not for me. Reese frowned, "Jaune… if there's anyone you should blame, it's me. _I_ got you to stop watching her. _I'm_ the reason you looked away. And _I'm_ going to do everything I can to help you find Ruby." she said, her eyes filled with a steely determination I'd never seen in her, not in all the… what was it? Three times, I'd seen her? Yeah… yeah, it was three. "How?" "I'm off tonight, I'll skateboard around the most likely places, as the pound, file a report. Some of my friends are walking the beat tonight, I'll ask them to keep an eye out for her okay? Now go home, get some rest… god knows you need it." she said, likely referring to the fact how I was struggling to keep my eyes open.

I stood, walking towards the sidewalk. I looked up, gritting my teeth as I saw the sun setting in the distance. I'd look so long… where could she be? " _No… Reese's right. Maybe she's home already… no… Ruby wouldn't just come home would she? Crap… I'll find you Ruby. I'll find you somehow!_ " I thought, walking towards the exit to the park. When I walked out I looked around, as if expecting to see Ruby running towards me, yipping at my legs and begging me to pick her up. Nope. Nothing but the dark. I turned towards the pet store, feeling my heart weighing heavy in my chest. It was my fault… Logic told me otherwise, Reese told me otherwise… but it was _my. Fault_. Ruby was gone because _I_ didn't pay enough attention to her. That was it.

By the time I'd reached the pet center, I was hanging my head low, almost at my breaking point. The second I walked through the door, heading towards the back, I heard something I _knew_ would send me over the edge. "J-Jaune! Oh… umm, where's Ruby?" I heard Winter say. I walked past the counter, not even bothering to look up as I reared my head back. I slammed it into the wall, pulling it back and slamming it over and over and over, until eventually I felt myself getting dizzy. I turned around, letting myself fall to the ground as I let my tears flow. I saw Yang and Pyrrha walking towards me as I covered my eyes, my chest filling with guilt. "She's gone… she's gone forever and it's all my fault!" I nearly yelled. I felt a pressure on my arm and I, without thinking, jumped forward, wrapping my arms around who I could only guess was Winter, burying my face in her shoulder as I started sobbing. Let her see it, I didn't care. I'd lost my little snowball. If only I'd paid more attention to her, if only I hadn't stopped to talk with Reese, if only… if only…

Eventually I cried myself out, pulling back and just looking down at my knees, moving them up and wrapping my arms around them. "Feel better?" "No… just tired of crying." I replied, laying my head into my arms. I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder as I looked up, seeing Winter's smiling face a few feet from mine. "Don't worry, we'll find her. I'll help you in any way I can." "Thanks Win-" I looked down, feeling my face flush slightly, "-ter… uh… why aren't you wearing a bra?" I asked. When I'd looked down, I noticed for the first time what Winter was wearing. She was clad in a pair of sleep pants, mine more specifically. Granted, no surprise there, I had a bad feeling Yang would do something like this. What caught me more off guard was what was on her chest.

She was wearing a plain white, button down shirt, one with the top few buttons and most of the bottom buttons chewed off mind you. It was an older shirt from when I was a few inches shorter, and given Winter was only an inch shorter than me, she'd seemed to improvise. She'd tied off the bottom half of the shirt below her breasts, exposing her toned stomach. The reason I could tell she didn't have a bra on was since it was cut so ridiculously low that there was no _way_ she could be. She looked away, "Well when I was feeding Weiss there was a… bit of a spill. I was going to just clean mine when Yang… stole it… she bit my bra off a few minutes later. This um… I didn't want her to ruin your clothes too so… I took this one. It looked old enough." she said, her own face _burning_ red.

I slowly nodded, given how Yang was around people she didn't like, that actually made perfect sense. People that got on her bad side would usually leave with a few extra marks on their body or a _lot_ less clothes. I'd hoped my scent on the clothes would keep Yang from biting them. "It's fine… you can keep them by the way. I think it'll be easier to explain why you're wearing that then why you're naked." I said, ripping a small smile from me and a light giggle from Winter. Then she turned away, looking towards the ground as I saw her face turn light pink. "Umm… would it be okay for me to… stay here tonight? I'd rather not try walking home dressed like…" she moved her hand down, gesturing to her already large bust being amplified by the shirt tied around it, as well as the sweatpants that hugged her hips and rear.

I raised an eyebrow, "How will you get clothes to, you know, _eventually_ go home?" "I'll call a friend of mine, have her bring them over." she said, her face still flushed as she avoided looking directly at me. I just nodded, giving her a slight smile. She smiled back, letting out a sigh of relief. "Thanks… I get catcalled enough, and that's _without_ looking like a belong on a street corner in the red-light district." she said, wrestling a laugh out of me. She was saying it, not me, though we were both thinking it. Yeah, with the shirt like that, the large bust, she really _did_ look like a whore. Not that I'd ever say it to her face. "Yeah… guess we need to find a place for you to sleep huh?" I said, standing up and walking towards the bedroom. I walked inside, only to hear something from outside. "AH! NO! BAD DOG!"

I walked out, turning around and freezing when I heard the all too familiar **RIIIP!** Sound. Winter was standing there, her mouth hanging open as she looked at me, her face somehow both pale and burning red. I saw Yang dash off towards the adoption center, a piece of gray fabric in her mouth. I saw Winter's hands fly to her crotch as my eyes unconsciously trailed down, down her long, muscular legs, all the way down to the pair of destroyed sleep pants around her ankles. I met her eyes, the two of us staring at each other for a beat longer before Winter screamed, sinking to the ground as I spun back, behind the door. "J-JAUNE! DON'T LOOK!" "I'M NOT LOOKING! I SWEAR! PUT SOMETHING ON!" I shouted, covering my eyes with my hand as well as shutting them as I felt Winter dash past me. "WOAH!" we both said as I felt my eyes fling open, my hands both flying to the side to stop me.

I looked down, about to apologize for falling on her when I froze. There was Winter, her wrists trapped beneath my hands, her hair splaying out around her and her face burning brighter than anything I'd ever seen. Her eyes were sparkling blue as I felt my eyes trail down, her large chest heaving slightly with both embarrassment and exertion. "W-Winter…" "J-Jaune… I… this… you…" she seemed at a loss for words. Hell, so was I. We were both frozen, gazing at each other. Until, that is, I felt a sharp pain on my ankle. I turned around, reaching over and lightly petting behind Pyrrha's ear as I stood, making sure to keep facing Pyrrha. I heard Winter scrambling to move, likely to go grab some other clothes of mine as I tried to get the image of Winter splayed out beneath me out of my head… still trying… _still_ trying… aaaaaand it's burned in there for good. Nevermind.

"You can turn around now." I heard Winter say. I turned around, raising an eyebrow when I noticed her choice in attire. A pair of my boxers, gripping tight to her body as I tried, key word _tried_ , not to stare at her thighs. "Uhh…" "I couldn't find anything else!" she said, glaring at me as if challenging, no, _daring_ me to question her. I slowly nodded, turning around and shutting the door as I walked over, pulling out the drawer Weiss was in. Her eyes were shut, and she was fast asleep when I slowly lifted her out. I smiled at her, " _Well… at least you're okay during this nightmare._ " I thought as I walked back into the room, seeing Winter on her scroll. Where's she'd stored it… frankly, I didn't want to know. I turned around and locked the door behind me. I'd rather Yang not get in and try stripping Winter again.

She set her scroll down on the nightstand, letting out a sigh. "My friend, can drop off a few things for me tomorrow morning. Until then…" she trailed, off, looking away from me. I slowly nodded, walking towards the bathroom. I walked in, giving one last look at Winter before I handed her the sleeping Weiss, shut the door, and started peeling off my sweat covered shirt and pants before I went to grab my sleep pants from the towel closet. "Jaune I…" I turned, Winter's eyes trailing down me as I turned around, her face slowly growing more and more red as I reached over, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around my waist. "You… don't have to cover up on my account." "Umm… okay?" I said, raising an eyebrow as I set the towel back in the hamper, Winter shutting the door behind her.

I walked out, looking over to see Weiss in her little crib, Winter's face burning as she looked down at the counter. "Winter." "I WASN'T THINKING ABOUT YOU! I… I mean… yes, Jaune?" she asked, turning around and trying to keep her eyes on my face. I could tell it was taking a lot of willpower for her not to look down. I mean, I wasn't personally that embarrassed, growing up with seven sisters and sharing a room with three of them would do that to you, but Winter? Oh she looked like she was about to pass out. I grabbed one of the pillows from my bed, setting it on the ground. I turned, grabbing a blanket from the closet. The second I looked over though, I noticed Winter already curled up on the ground. "Uhh… I meant for you to take the _bed_ Winter. I'll sleep on the floor." I said.

She looked up at me, raising an eyebrow before she shook her head, "It's your home, you should take the bed. I'm fine on the floor." "Winter, you're my guest. I insist." I said, gesturing towards the bed with a small smile. She looked down for a second before she nodded, standing up and walking over to the bed. She laid down, pulling the covers over her and, seemingly, going straight to sleep. I laid down on the floor, turning up and looking towards the ceiling, the hard floor on my back and the soft pillow against my head. " _Ruby… she'd be sleeping right now… crawling up next to me maybe…_ " I couldn't help but think as I frowned, shutting my eyes as I tried to fight down the tears and the memories. I knew I couldn't… there were too many of them.

"Having trouble sleeping?" I heard Winter ask. I looked over, seeing her eyes shining at me in the darkness. She rose up slightly, her hair flowing down to her shoulders, illuminated by the moonlight behind her, giving a heavenly glow to her. If I didn't know any better I'd say she was an angel. "Are you?" "I umm… it's hard for me to fall asleep when I know what's waiting for me." she said, looking away from me, towards the nearby wall. I just nodded, nightmares. I kind of knew what she was talking about, being as one of my sisters had a rather similar problem, constant night terrors. The way I helped her though… "Did your parents ever comfort you?" "No. Not once." she said, her gaze blank, but I could see the fire behind her eyes, an inferno with no means of escape, forced to build up pressure.

I stood, walking over to her and laying a hand on hers. "Well… back when I had nightmares, my mom would always come in, she wouldn't leave until morning, even when I was already asleep again." "That… that must be nice. Would you… would… forget it." Winter said, her face burning as she looked away from me. I gave her a warm smile as I placed a hand on her shoulder, slipping a leg into bed. "I'll do that for you… if you want that is." "Why would… I… I'd like that… thank you…" she said, smiling at me as I saw her give in, scooting over slightly as I, fighting a blush stronger than the inferno behind her eyes, laid down next to her, at arm's length. Ours eyes met, we both blushed. "Was this… how your mother did it?" "Well… she'd always hug me too but… if you… want…" I said, feeling my mouth going dry as I looked over at her.

She just nodded, holding out her arms as I wrapped mine around her, pulling myself up slightly as I rested my chin on her head, trying to ignore her breasts pressing near my stomach. I could hear the smile in her voice as she spoke, "It's… nice…" "Yeah… being next to someone is always kind of nice I think. Reminds us we aren't alone… no matter how hard things get. That we have someone right there for us." I said, smiling down at Winter. She looked up, smiling at me as I felt her leg slip over mine, wrapping around as she nuzzled into my chest, her breathing getting steady as I felt my own body start relaxing. One last thought hit me before I fell unconscious.

" _Wherever you are Ruby, I hope you're doing okay._ "

…

"Okay everyone! Time for bed!"

I heard the voice of Ms. Peach, the headmistress of the orphanage say as I walked towards my bed. I sat down my backpack near the bed, quickly slipping off my clothes and pulling on my pink nightgown before I pulled back the sheets. I was about to get in when I saw my bag move. I thought I might've been seeing things… then it moved again. I could've sworn I heard a whimper this time too. Some of the other girls seemed to take notice, walking over. I heard a low growl from my bag as the other girls started crowding around. "What's going on?" "The bag is growling!" "Is there a demon in there?" "What if it's a fox?" "It's her bag, she can handle anything that comes out." "Shh! She's opening it!" I heard twenty voices saying at once as I slowly reached over, getting on one knee and unzipping the bag. The second I did so, I heard an all too familiar sound.

"YIP! YIP!"

That sound was followed by a small ball of gray and white fur rolling out, looking up at me and giving a little bark. The girls around me went _ballistic_. "EEEH! IT'S A CUTE LITTLE PUPPY!" "AAAAAW LOOK AT THOSE WIDDLE PAWS!" "SHE'S SO _CUTE!_ " "I WANNA PET HER!" "CAN I SNUGGLE WITH HER NEO!? PLEASE!?" I heard them all yelling as the little dog padded over to me, reaching it's paws up and licking my face. I couldn't help but smile as I reached down, sitting up and petting it. She seemed to like it, curling up and giving out a cute yawn as she nestled into my lap. "GIRLS!?" all of us froze for a second as we heard that voice, the little dog looking up. We looked over, seeing Ms. Peach walking towards us. One of the girls took the little dog, setting her down on the ground beneath the bed, ducking under.

"What _is_ all the commotion about? Is someone hurt?" "No ma'am! Uh… Octavia!" one of the other girls said, pulling the shortest red headed girl in front of me, holding out a hand towards her. "Was uh… showing us her puppy impression! She looked so cute… we're sorry about the noise." "Puppy, impression? This I _have_ to see." she said, smiling down at Octavia. The other girls all froze, except for the one that had spoken. The pink haired girl with the mismatched eyes (kind of like my own) just nudged the red head, motion towards my lap. Octavia nodded, walking over and laying her head in my lap. I got the idea, playing along as I reached up, rubbing her head slightly. She closed her eyes, rubbing against my stomach for a second before she licked my cheek. "YIP YIP!" she said, leaning against my shoulder as the girls started awwing again.

Ms. Peach let out a chuckle, "As adorable as that is Octavia, I'd think it's about time for bed girls. I don't like disciplining you, so don't misbehave, okay?" "Yes Ms. Peach." everyone but me said in unison. She walked away, everyone acting like they were walking towards their beds until the door shut, then they silently dashed over me, the other girl, still holding the little puppy, getting out from below. "Thanks for taking a dive Octavia." "No problem… hey! Don't stop!" Octavia said, glaring at me when I stopped petting her hair. I kept doing it, seeing that, while it was mostly an act, she seemed to _actually_ enjoy being pet. The pink haired girl took the puppy, sitting down before she smiled over at me.

"I don't know where or how you got this puppy, but she is _too_ cute to just let roam the streets." "Yeah!" "Protect the pup!" "We can't leave her!" everyone started agreeing, keeping their voices as low as they could. We waited for a second when we heard footsteps, but when no one came, they started talking again. "She seems to like you, but I say we _all_ take care of her right? Octavia can get water, Gwen," she pointed to a dark haired girl, "Can get spare food from the kitchen, Nebula," she pointed to a girl with purple hair, "can get some spare bedding for her to sleep on, and Dew," she pointed to a blonde girl," Can hide her when we're working, thanks to her leg." the was obviously referring to the fact that Dew had a limp, making working around the orphanage borderline impossible for her.

I just nodded, smiling at them as the other children all walked off to their own beds, Octavia standing up and giving me one last lick on her cheek (she took that role _very_ seriously) before scampering off to her own bed. The other girl smiled at me, reaching over and petting the little dog. "What's her name anyway?" she asked, looking over at me. I just shrugged. How was I supposed to know? I'd seen her once, she'd had no collar and had apparently decided to follow me home. The girl slowly nodded, frowning as her eyebrows knitted themselves in thought. Then she smiled, "Snowball! Look at her! She looks _just_ like a little snowball!" she said. The little 'snowball' looked up, giving a quiet yip before licking the other girls face. I guess she liked the name. "Snowball it is." then she held out her hand, "I'm May by the way, I don't think we ever officially met. I hope we can be friends!" she said, giving me a bright smile. I returned it with a smaller one, as well as a nod.

" _With little snowball's help, maybe we can be._ "


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter thirteen: Stranger things have happened

"Aww… who left you out here?"

I thought as I walked over, frowning as I leaned down, scooping up the small ball of fluff in my arms. She had matted white and gray fur, her eyes bright silver as they seemed to shine towards me. She let out a low whimper, a light growling coming from her. Though, I had a sense that it wasn't because of anger. "Are you hungry little puppy?" "BARK! BARK!" the puppy said, weakly wagging it's tail. I smiled, reaching up and gently petting the starving dog. She seemed to like it, brushing against my hand. "Why has no one picked you up yet?" I muttered, more talking to myself than anyone else. Then I heard it, the lower growling. I looked up, my eyes widening slightly as I saw the large… dhole if I had to guess, coming towards me. "Oh… that's why…" I said, slowly stepping away from the larger dog. She just barked at me: deep, bellowing, powerful. She was _angry_.

"Eeeeeeasy girl. Look see? I'm not a threat." I said, slowly setting the puppy -what I guessed it was angry about- on the ground at my feet. I held up my hands in a gesture of peace, keeping that same smile on my face. "I'm not a threat… please don't eat me." I said quickly, trying to keep my emotions in check. If the dog was anything like the last dog I'd found in an alley, it could smell fear. One whiff of it, it'd be on me before I could even move. Though, luck seemed to be on my side, since the second I let go of the smaller puppy, she immediately walked over to it, lightly nudging it with her nose before biting down on the scruff of her neck, pulling her onto her back. " _Is… that her mother? What am I missing here?"_ I thought, watching as the puppy sat up on the larger dogs back. I could almost _feel_ the warm smile on the creatures face as it barked again, wagging it's tail as it disappeared around the corner.

I walked past the alley everyday, and everyday I was greeted by the same, excitable puppy. I'd take her, pet her, and always put her down as the guardian came around. Though, each time, she seemed to be warming up to me. Less and less were the times she'd growl, rather just start walking towards me. We had reached a… neutral hostility, if you would. I would let the puppy go whenever she got to close, and she wouldn't bite my throat out for touching it. She even started letting me pet _her_ when I came around. This kept going for almost a month until, suddenly, they just… stopped. They stopped coming near me. The puppy didn't run out of the alley anymore. The larger dog didn't try and stop me from petting the smaller one. They just… vanished.

It was two days, probably the longest two days of my life, before I finally relented and decided to walk down the alley. I held my switchblade at the ready, just in case some punk with a lead pipe was planning an ambush or something. Though, the second I walked around the corner, all thoughts of an ambush fled from my mind. I set my switchblade back in my pocket, running towards the center of the alley as I saw none other than the large dog and it's puppy, both lying down in a dog-bed. This wouldn't _normally_ be much concern for me, if not for the fact the larger one sported many still bleeding scars, the younger one was scared out of it's mind, and there were four stray dogs slowly closing in on them.

"YA! YA! GET OUT! GET OUT!" I yelled, jumping and running towards the other dogs, three of them falling for it and dashing away, running with their tails between their legs. The last one stood firm, it's eyes fixed on me. I grabbed my switchblade again, flicking it down as I slowly walked over there. "I SAID GO! GO! GET OUT!" I yelled, brandishing my blade like a torch. The dog didn't buy it, growling at me as it slowly padded forward. I gulped as I took a step back. That was all it needed. With an air of victory the beast dashed towards me, lunging right at me. I didn't hope to dodge, rather I ran towards it, slamming into it's stomach with my shoulder, knocking it to the ground. I stomped on the ground in front of it, lunging slightly ahead of me. "BOO!" I shouted, hoping to scare it off.

This time, it seemed to work. The dog dashed off to join it's companions, likely to go stalk some other pray. Meanwhile, I set down my switchblade, slowly leaning down towards the two dogs in the center. I looked down, raising an eyebrow when I saw that, contrary to what _I'd_ thought -that being that the dog bed was simply a tossed out relic- it seemed to be almost new, with two names sewn onto it in bright red, hand stitching. Whoever had made it, they likely wouldn't just throw it away, would they? The text read:

 _For my little Ruby, and the Big 'Yang'... I can't believe you made me write that_

I raised an eyebrow… " _If Yang was the dog… and this person was sewing… how could she have made her do it? Was it… was there someone else making them write it or… FOCUS JAUNE! ANIMALS IN DANGER HERE!_ " I thought, ignoring the confusing message of the dog bed and picking up the smaller dog -which I assumed was Ruby- in my arms, lightly petting her to calm her down as I reached over, hoisting the larger dog -assumingly Yang- over my shoulder. As gently and quickly as I could, I started carrying them towards my store, only a few blocks away.

I kicked the doors in, smiling as I saw the familiar head of green hair standing in front of the counter, his hand cupping his chin, no doubt wondering where the proprietor of the establishment was. "Oobleck! Thank Oum you're here! We've got an injured canine." "I'M ON IT!" Oobleck said, and like a snap of finger he changed into his vet-mode, grabbing the dog from my shoulder, gently setting her on the ground, grabbing out a kit from his coat pocket and gently probing and working the injuries. All the while, Yang stood still. Motionless. She didn't even flinch when Oobleck started stitching some of the places back together, places that no doubt wouldn't have healed on their own. Other than the stitches though, from what I could tell he just cleaned her wounds.

After a minute Oobleck stood, looking down at the puppy in my arms. "She doesn't need any wounds cleaned." "No, she just needs to _be_ cleaned… give her a bath, her fur is matted and she stinks to high heaven." he said, turning back and looking down at Yang again, as if double checking to make sure he'd done the stitching right. Of course he had. It was _Oobleck_. I'd never seen the man need to do anything twice because of making a mistake the first time. Maybe that was the bonus of doing things fast all the time? Had to be really good at everything to do it at that speed I guess. I walked towards the back, pulling open the door and walking into the adoption center. I heard the soft padding of paws before I turned, seeing Yang walking behind me, keeping her eyes focused on Ruby. I turned away, walking towards the familiar section of the center.

That section, of course, was the place I bathed the animals. There was a large pool towards the center, a few inches of water still in it from this morning's baths as well as the selection of dog-friendly products I'd bought a few months back. I walked towards it, kicking my shoes off as I set little Ruby in the pool, the dog immediately sniffing the water. I rolled up my sleeves, walking over and turning on the hose nearby, sending a small stream of water inside. I stepped in, grabbing a bottle of shampoo and smiling at the smaller dog. "Alright Ruby," she barked at that, wagging her tail. I guess it _was_ her name.

"You need a bath."

…

I didn't open my eyes.

I knew the second I did, I would see the ceiling of the familiar room, feel the familiar bed beneath me. I already knew I couldn't feel Ruby next to me, couldn't hear her anywhere else. I knew that feeling next to me was Winter… I knew that I missed my Ruby. I held up a hand, not opening my eyes as I felt the water falling off my cheeks… guess I'd been able to work up enough liquid in my body to cry some more. I felt something wrapping around me, and I didn't hesitate as I wrapped my arms around it, pulling it closer. I didn't know what it was, I didn't _care_ what it was. It was a distraction, that was all I needed for now.

"Jaune? Are you okay?" "No…" I muttered, frowning as I opened my eyes, looking down towards Winter. We were in the same position as last night, neither of us having moved. She looked up, her eyes sparkling in the dim light as she frowned at me. I felt her arms wrap tighter against me, as if trying to squeeze every tear from my body, and with it every sadness. It wouldn't work, I knew it. No matter how many tears fell, the reason they were there wouldn't go away. I let my arms go limp when I felt Winter trying to move, pulling away from me. I watched as she sat up, her hair cascading down her back, illuminated by the rising sun… she didn't look quite right. The sun didn't do her justice like the moon had last night. I saw her step out over me, and I turned my head and watched as she grabbed her scroll, sitting down against the side of the bed. She scrolled through her contacts, picking out what looked to be a picture of a clock before she held it up to her ear.

"We're up, are you here yet?… a few minutes… no, I didn't… alright, bye." she said, her face blank as she ended the call, sighing as she slowly stood. I looked away when I saw her stretching, not wanting her to think I was staring at her rear. Which, considering the height she was at, was borderline impossible for me _not_ to do in this case. I felt a tapping on my shoulder as I turned, seeing Winter looking down at me. I sat up, looking up towards her before I gave her a weak smile. "Sleep well?" "Better than ever… thank you, Jaune." she said, her smile far warmer than her namesake as, before she could say anything else, I stood, walking past her and over towards Weiss. The little girl had -quite surprisingly- not cried or done anything of the sort all night. It was, for once, quiet in my room.

I walked over, pulling back the blanket and smiling at her, then that smile turned into confusion. "Winter… did you wake up and change her diaper?" "No, why would you think so?" she asked quickly, looking over towards me as she pulled the cover over her scantily clad legs. I looked over at her, pulling the just now waking up Weiss out and cradling her in my arms. "I don't know, maybe because her diaper is on backwards?" I said, holding her up and revealing there to, indeed, be the design that was supposed to be on the back of the diaper over her front. Winter's face turned pink as she chuckled, "I uh… I didn't want to wake you up so I… well…" "You don't know how to change a diaper I'm guessing?" I said, my lips twinged up into a smirk. Winter looked away, her silence the only answer I needed.

I walked back into the bathroom, fixing Weiss's diaper so that it was the right way around. "You know if you ever have kids you'll have to make sure to get it right, right?" I said jokingly, looking back out the door towards her. Her face burned brighter as she looked away, her hands gripping at the blanket. I heard a meek noise of approval as I turned away, taking my attention from one white haired girl to another. I heard Weiss's adorable yawn the second I finished diapering her, her blue eyes sparkling up towards me as she held up her hands. "Pa-pa!" "I'm right here sweetie, come on! Let's go see ma-ma!" I said, unable to help the smile on my face as I hoisted her up into my arms, walking into the other room. I sat down next to Winter, the girl still looking off towards the door, away from me.

"Ma-ma!" At least, until Weiss was grabbing at what little spare material her shirt had. She turned around, looking down to see Weiss in her lap, reaching up towards her. She smiled as she hoisted Weiss up, cradling her in her arms. "Sounds like you're having fun." I looked up, my eyes widening before I relaxed, seeing the figure walking towards us. That monotone voice was recognizable anywhere. "Hey Blake. Didn't expect you… wait, how did you get in?" I asked, slowly standing up. I didn't remember giving her a key… wait, did I lock the door last night? Or was I too upset to bother doing so? Did Winter? "The door was unlocked." she said. Well… guess that answers _that_. I walked over, grabbing out my clothes from the drawers and the closet. I looked over, seeing Blake's eyes trailing down, a small smirk finding it's way to her face. "Don't get dressed on my account, I don't mind." she said. I felt my face tinge pink slightly as I suddenly because _very_ aware of the fact I was just dressed in a pair of boxers. Blake's eyes almost seemed like a predators, glancing over at a tempting prey…

"Well, I need to uh… get dressed anyway. I'll be right back, watch Weiss for me." I said, turning around and locking the bathroom door behind me. I felt my heart beating fast against my rib cage, the sudden realization that I'd been almost naked in a room with both Winter _and_ Blake, with Winter wearing barely any more clothes than I was. " _I… think I'll take a cold shower today._ " I thought as I stripped off my boxers, laying my clothes off to the side and stepping in the shower. I nearly yelped as I felt the cold water hit me, and from the way my face was burning, I was surprised the water wasn't turning to steam. I sat there for a few minutes, just trying to get the sudden images of Winter from the other day out of my head, how she looked trapped under my wrists, how she looked in the moonlight, all of them. Safe to say it… wasn't really working.

I got out a few minutes later, fully dressed this time, and I saw Yang laying at Blake's feet, leaned against her leg. Pyrrha padded over to me, looking up at me with a gaze that spoke to me, " _These two should never be in the same room together._ " a sentiment that I could get behind. The two of them were both on my bed: Winter cuddling Weiss and Blake petting Yang. I was about to announce my presence whenever I heard them talking, seemingly ignoring me. "Any good reason you're dressed like a stripper?" "That stupid mutt you're petting is the reason." she said, glaring down at Yang as I heard the hound growling up at her. Winter didn't flinch, seeming to meet Yang's eyes in a staring contest. Blake leaned down, rubbing behind Yang's ear. "Good girl." she said, a small smirk on her face as she cast a sidelong glance at Winter.

Winter's face burned in anger as she looked away, clutching Weiss a bit tighter. "I hope you end up naked before today's over." "Sorry, you're not my type." Blake said, keeping that smirk on her face as Winter stood, glaring down at her. I heard a small yelp of pain from Weiss, one that spurred me into motion, gently taking her from Winter's arms smiling down at her. "Hey shh shh shhh, daddy's here." I said, cradling the smaller girl, frozen lakes meeting my oceans. I planted a small kiss on her forehead before I glared at Blake. Blake seemed taken aback by this, slightly shrinking away from me. "I don't want you arguing in front of Weiss, it's a bad habit for her to pick up." I turned towards Winter now, that same glare on my face. "Am I clear?" I asked, looking between them.

They both nodded, Blake losing her smirk as Winter's blush slowly died down. I gave a small smile again as I moved my hands to better cradle Weiss's head. "Looks like someone slept well last night." I said, smiling down at Weiss as she reached around, frowning. I raised an eyebrow… then I saw the way she moved her arms, as if clutching something. Without a word I walked past the two girls and my dogs, walking into the front room of the store and pulling open the drawer. Oddly, it wasn't there. "Huh… Winter?! Did you move Weiss's bear?!" "No! She might have dropped it somewhere!" she yelled back through the door. I nodded, frowning as I gently set Weiss in the cabinet, searching beneath some of the desks and stools, searching for the small stuffed bear.

I was looking around the front of the counter when I heard what sounded like a loud thump, like something hitting against metal. I shot up, looking over the front where I saw… the bear. I saw the bear with it's arm looped around the handle that would open the filing cabinet Weiss was in. I looked up, finding that the door was still closed and -based on the sounds from within- Blake and Winter were still arguing. "Odd… where'd you come from?" I muttered as I pulled the bear off the edge, opening Weiss's cabinet and laying the bear on her belly. She started giggling as she wrapped her arms around the bear, turning it so that it almost looked like the bear was hugging her back. I smiled, lifting her back out of the cabinet and cradling her in my arms, frowning as I looked at the bear. " _Did I miss the bear the first time or… was it there a minute ago? How did it get there?_ " I thought, trying to understand why and how the bear had seemingly walked on it's own.

 **THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!**

"YADA-HA!" I shouted, jumping away from the noise as I held Weiss closer, her still giggling about her bear. I looked around, feeling my muscles relax slightly as I saw what looked to be a chew toy and two collars a few feet away. I walked over, holding Weiss in one hand as I bent over, about to pick up the toy when I paused. I looked at the collars. Or more specifically, the _names_ on the collars. "Ruby… Rose… huh, odd." I muttered as I set them back on the shelf, grabbing the two next. It was, oddly enough, that same kind of toy that Ruby liked… the same kind Ozpin always bought… " _His granddaughter's name is Ruby Rose… am I seriously considering that? What am I, REN?_ " I thought with a little chuckle before I set the toy back where it went, cradling Weiss in both arms again.

I walked back towards the front, only to stop when I heard the familiar chime of the bell. "Umm, sorry we're-" "I'm not a customer." I heard a cold, no-nonsense voice ask. I looked over, watching as a short, dark skinned woman walked towards me. She was clad in a plain gray, button-down shirt and a blue skirt. She glanced at her watch, her expression unreadable, before she looked back at me, eyes sharper than a blade. "Where's Maria?" "Maria… oh! Right, Winter! Your friend's here!" I yelled back towards the door. I saw the woman's eyes widen for a split second before she slowly shook her head, grabbing out her scroll. I saw her typing out a message as Winter and Pyrrha walked out, slowly followed by Blake and Yang.

The woman looked up, freezing in her tracks as she saw Blake. Blake's eyes met hers, her eyes widening as she too froze. They stared each other down for a second before Blake -not taking her eyes off the newcomer- slowly walked around the counter, until she was standing next to me. She held out her hand, "I don't believe we've met. Blake Belladonna." "Ciel Soleil." she said, grabbing Blake's knuckles as the two shook hands, their eyes locked on one another's, a clearly fake smile on Blake's face while Ciel's bore no look at all. Winter looked between them, her expression as confused as mine. Weiss has even stopped giggling, looking towards Ciel. "Pa-pa! Sca-wy!" she said, pointing towards Ciel. I nodded, unable to take my eyes off the woman as Ciel broke away, walking down and looking at Weiss. She gave a small smile, "Boo."

"WAAAAAHAHAHAHA!"

"HEY! Oh sh sh sh shhh it's okay Weiss, everything's okay." I said, glaring towards Ciel as I tried to comfort Weiss. Winter glared at her, walking over and jerking her away from Blake, pulling her out the door. Blake stared after them as I walked behind the counter, gently cradling Weiss against my chest as I whispered towards her, rocking her in my arms as I hoped to get her to stop crying. Strangely enough, she stopped a second later, big blue eyes looking over towards Blake. Blake walked behind me and, sure enough, Weiss's eyes followed, watching the girl the whole time. Blake seemed to sense this, smiling down at Weiss. "Well hi there little baby, do you know my name?" "Ki-ki!" she said, pointing towards her.

Blake's face paled for a second before she raised an eyebrow, looking towards me. I just shrugged, holding up Weiss as she kept saying ki-ty over and over again. "I… think she's trying to say 'kitty'." " _Oh_ … weird, I was just playing with my mom's cat earlier." she said, smiling over at me. I smiled back, shrugging. Weird things happened around here I guess… I mean, I _did_ just see Ruby Rose collars next to the dog-toy Ozpin always bought. I stood, holding her towards Blake, who held out her arms. This time, there was no complaining from Weiss to be held by Blake, perhaps due to her new role as 'kitty'. "You know… considering you're being ordered to keep her a secret, you sure are letting _a lot_ of people see her." "I… well… yeah I'm not good at keeping secrets." I said, sheepishly rubbing the back of my head. Blake giggled, trailing her finger gently down Weiss's side as I turned around, about to head about feeding the animals. As I walked in, I felt my mind wander, back to the encounter Blake and Ciel had had.

" _Wonder what that was about?_ "

…

"Did you have sex with Jaune, Pale Lady?"

"WHAT!? NO! OF COURSE NOT!" I nearly shouted, glaring down at Ciel as she started the drive towards my apartment, a spare set of clothes in the back. I would've put them on but, I'd seen that _look_ in her eyes. That look that told me we had to go. _Now_. Speaking of, the shorter girl looked over at me for a second, her eyes trailing down my body. "You look like a slut." "I _know_ that, don't remind me." I said, still glaring at her as I felt my face burning. I crossed my arms, trying to cover my chest as best I could as Ciel turned away from my house. I looked over at her, but found her eyes dead center, focused on something. I turned ahead, realization playing out on my face as I recognized the path we were taking. "Why're we-" she sped up, driving off towards the industrial park before I could say anything.

Every attempt at conversation I made just pinged off her impenetrable wall of isolation. Eventually I just kept quiet, absently gazing out the window every few seconds, seeing a few police officers walking around, a young woman on a skateboard shouting something, a bunch of unremarkable sights. Eventually she pulled in behind a nearby warehouse, stopping her car and shutting it down before she turned to me, her eyes boring into mine. "Listen closely, we don't have much time. The girl you call Blake Belladonna is a white fang agent. She got away from me once, and now she either knows or at least _suspects_ that you're a huntress. You _have_ to get Weiss out of there, or we risk losing her to the fang. She should be nearing the age her semblance starts activating, which means the white fang either know who she is or very soon _will_ know. Understand?" "Wait… hold on, what about Jaune? I can't just _take_ Weiss from him, he'll come looking! Not to _mention_ she's already attached to him." I said, muttering the last bit.

"Then kill him."

"W-What?" "You heard me. He's becoming attached, he's an obstacle to Weiss. Kill him." Ciel said, her eyes keeping that same look in them as if we were just discussing if it was going to rain tomorrow, or what we were going to _wear_. Of course… it wasn't the _first_ time I'd have had to kill someone but… "Is it-" "You've grown attached too. According to article IV section V clause 32 of our training guides, getting attached is _strictly_ prohibited, and a violation of protocol. You're a good huntress Winter, so I'll make you a deal. Kill Jaune, bring Weiss back to the general, and we'll forget this ever happened. I'll personally make sure you get re-assigned elsewhere. Am I clear?" she said. I felt my head start spinning, heart pounding. She was right. Just like usual, she was _right_. I _had_ grown attached to Jaune and Weiss, even to that _stupid_ mutt Yang. Normally I wouldn't have a problem killing someone but… what did Jaune do to _deserve_ this? Caring about Weiss? Raising her like his daughter?

"Listen Timepiece… Ciel. Ciel I need _time_ , okay? I don't think Blake works for the white fang, she's had _plenty_ of opportunities to take her if she does. Just… I need time, can you do that for me?" "Winter… you're lucky I haven't reported in to Ironwood since before the attack, but you _know_ I don't do this for free." she said, giving me a slight glare, something more hidden behind her eyes. Something I, of course, was all too familiar with. I sighed, unbuckling and turning to face her. "How much?" "Not money Winter. I deal in time." she said, her face cracking into a rare smile. I gulped, knowing that would've been her answer. I knew what Ciel wanted… I was just reluctant to appease her. "A month for an hour?" "Make it a week, and deal." she said, smirking slightly. She _knew_ she had me.

"A month Ciel, _please_." "Hmm… okay, a month. Only if I get to punish you right now this once for free." she said, unable to hide the blush tinting her face. I felt it _burning_ mine as I nodded, knowing it was the best deal I'd ever get out of her. She smiled, leaning back slightly and getting out of the car. When she opened my door, I didn't hesitate to step out, watching as she looked over me. Without hesitation she reached forward, expertly untying my shirt before she grabbed Jaune's boxers, yanking them down around my ankles. I didn't try and cover myself, knowing what she'd do if I did. She almost effortlessly lifted up my feet, making me step out of them before she slipped the shirt off me, tossing it behind her. Without a word she opened the trunk, grabbing out a long coil of rope. As she started tying my hands behind my back in a painful reverse prayer, I could only think of one thing to try and dull the pain

" _I'm doing this for Weiss and Jaune… Jaune and… WOW this is more painful than I remember._ "


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter fourteen: Ruby's risk and Jaune's torment

" _My little baby._ "

I knew that voice. I knew it so well, why couldn't I remember who it came from? I tried to look around, look down, look _anywhere_. I couldn't see a thing, other than my own hands in front of my face. They weren't even my hands. They were hands like Weiss's, the hands of a baby. I could move them around, but only to a certain extent. I could feel a comforting presence against my side, the strange sense that someone was smiling down at me. I saw a pair of bright silver eyes swim into view, a smile appearing right beneath them. " _Wake up little Ruby… wake up…_ "

…

"Wakie wakie snowball!"

I slowly opened my eyes, looking down to see that I was still in my dog form, laying on little Neo's chest. I looked up, seeing the girl that had given me my new name: May Zedong. She was smiling down at me, lightly rubbing behind my ear. I leaned up, pressing into her hand as I felt a smile spring to my face. She reached over, picking me up and setting me on her lap, running a hand down my back. "YIP! YIP!" "Shh! Be quiet snowball!" May said, leaning down, her eyes slightly panicked as she looked around. I got the message: I wasn't really supposed to be here. I heard the sounds of movement, a light groan coming from nearby as I saw Neo slowly sitting up, her hair sticking up every direction as she let out a quiet yawn, rubbing her eyes.

I heard the door opening as May set me beneath the bed, her eyes pleading with me not to move. I waited, watching as two, black boots walked across the floor, stopping when they were right next to the bed. "What are you two doing up?" I heard a deep, male voice ask. I felt myself start shaking slightly. Something about that voice… I didn't like it. Not one bit. I couldn't explain _why_ but… something told me there was nothing good about this guy. "I had a nightmare… Neo's so brave I thought-" "Shh… quiet time." I heard the man say. I slowly padded back, looking out from behind one of the beds to reveal the man before me. He was tall, rather thin at that, and his eyes looked like a serpents. Thin and slippery, aiming down at May. He was too distracted to notice me. May's eyes widened as she looked up at him, "Wait… who are you mister?" "I'm a friend sweetie. Why don't you two come with me? I've got something you'll want to see." he said, smiling down at them. I felt my eyes widen as May nearly stood, Neo holding her back down to the bed.

I had to do something, I had to do _something_! I couldn't let him take them! I started padding back towards the entrance, racking my little brain for _something_ I could do. I saw him lay his hand on Neo's shoulder, "Relax sweetheart, I'm a friend. Now come with me. You two have been adopted." he said, both of their eyes widening. They looked at one another, both shocked at the news. I could tell the man was lying, why couldn't I do anything about it!? I felt my eyes widening as Neo and May stood, him reaching out and taking both of their hands. " _Oh god! WhatdoIdo?! WhatdoIdo?! WhatdoIdo?!_ " I thought, skittering around as I searched for something, _anything_ to stop him. I looked down, my eyes widening as I saw just what I was looking for: A broom. " _Uh, I'm too small to do anything!... unless…_ " I thought, biting my cheek as I thought of it. Was I really willing to risk my secret? The secrets of _all_ faunus for the sake of these girls? "Where are you taking us?" "We're going home children, we'll have _plenty_ of fun there."

Yes. Yes I was.

I felt the familiar stab of fear as I morphed into my human state, leaning back against the door as I grabbed the nearby broom. I reached back, my eyes widening as I turned, seeing something that might work a bit better than the flimsy wooden broom: A metal rod. Now, _why_ there was a metal rod next to a supply closet, I had no clue, but I wasn't about to complain. I picked it up, gripping it tight in my hands as I stood low, rearing back the rod. "Are you adopting us mister?" "That I am child, you can call me 'daddy' from now on."

 **CRACK!**

I swung, _hard_. I saw the man fall down, his head hitting against the floor with a loud thud as I tossed the rod away, frowning down at the children. "Are you two okay?" "I… you… who… huh?" May said, looking back and forth between me and the man. To her young mind it must've seemed odd to say the least, seeing a tall, naked woman with an iron rod come in and knock out the man taking you away. I leaned down, Neo's eyes widening as she pointed behind me. I looked back, watching my tail wagging back and forth. "Yeah… guess I have some explaining to do." I said, sheepishly rubbing behind my head as I turned back to the two girls. Both of them nodded, looking at me with a confused expression.

I stepped over the man, taking both of their hands and guiding them back over to Neo's bed. I sat down as the two of them stayed standing, still eye-level with me thanks to the height of the bed. "Who or… _what_ are you miss?" "Well… I'm snowball. Well, not really, my name's actually Ruby but -nevermind! I'm a faunus." I said, feeling the familiar stabbing of pain at saying the word aloud. I'd kept it secret for almost fifteen years… it was _so_ weird to talk about it so outright like this. The two looked at each other, both still with those confused little eyes. I sighed, "Being a faunus means I can see in the dark, I've got this thing," I moved over, holding my tail up slightly, " and I can turn into… well, let me show you." I said, moving around so I was crouched on the bed.

I shut my eyes, letting out a breath as I felt my body shifting back into my dog state, the girls eyes widening as they saw the tall, naked woman suddenly shift back into that tiny husky puppy they'd seen the night before. I padded over to Neo, "Yip! Yip!" "Oh my gosh… it really _is_ Snowball!" May said, leaning down and petting me. I rubbed back into her hand, letting her pick me up and lay me back on the bed. I shut my eyes, morphing back into my human state again as I flung my head back, getting my hair out of my face as I gave them a sad smile. "You two _have_ to be quiet about this okay? If anyone finds out I'm a faunus… well, they'll take me away." "We don't want that! We want you to stay!" May said, Neo nodding in agreement.

I was about to speak again when I heard the footsteps, my tail stiffening as I crouched down, "Shh! Someone's coming!" I said, shutting my eyes as I morphed back into snowball. May set me down as I skittered beneath the bed, her and Neo jumping into one. I looked out, seeing none other than the head mistress of the Orphanage herself enter the room, holding a metal baseball bat no less. She looked around for a moment, only for her eyes to widen when she saw the man on the ground. She cautiously padded over to him, tapping his head with her baseball bat. When he didn't move, she let out a sigh of relief, turning around and pulling out a scroll from her bright orange nightgown pocket, holding it up to her ear. "911 what's the emergency?" "A man broke into the orphanage, I found him unconscious just a few moments ago. I'm not sure how." I heard her speaking to the operator.

She got off the phone a moment later, sitting down on a nearby bed and pulling back the covers. I saw the familiar red hair of Octavia, her hands beneath her pillow as she slept. She pulled the blanket back over her, repeating the process over and over again, with every different bed. That is, until she got to May's bed. "May!? Oh no…" "Miss Peach?" I heard May ask. I moved beneath the bed next to her, looking up to see her leaning up, rubbing her eyes and giving a rather convincing fake yawn. Peach, apparently that was the woman's name, let out a sigh of relief, walking over to her. "Thank goodness they didn't… wait, why are you in Neo's bed?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Now that the relief was gone, the questions started coming in. May looked at the ground, grabbing at her arm as her face turned red. She gulped, "I-I had a nightmare… Neo made me feel safe…" she said, no doubt referring to the fact Neo had (thinking on her feet) wrapped an arm around May's waist.

Peach smiled, "Glad to see she's made a friend… I was starting to worry about her. Being alone all the time isn't good for a growing girl like her." she said, frowning as she walked over, lightly running her hand over Neo's forehead. I frowned… she made a point. If what I saw the earlier (maybe yesterday?) was any indication, the other kids were either afraid of Neo, or didn't particularly like her. Peach stood, looking over at the man down the rows. "Did you… see anyone May? When you were walking to Neo?" "Yeah, I saw a tall shadow hit a short one with something shiny… wait, maybe that was part of my nightmare… I don't know Ms. Peach." she said, frowning up at Peach. She let out a small sigh, giving May a smile as she ran a hand through the girls pink hair. "It was May… all just a bad dream…"

"All just a bad dream…"

…

"Roger Dispatch, I'm on my way."

I let go of the button as I started my car, driving down the road. " _A break-in at an orphanage? What could you possibly steal at an ORPHANAGE of all places?_ " I thought, swiping my green hair out of my face as I drove down the street, not bothering to turn on my siren. There was virtually no traffic, so it wasn't really all that necessary at the moment. That and it was, what? A two-minute drive? " _I'll deal with this and get back to the search… who'd have thought that little puppy could give me this much trouble?_ " I thought as I parked next to the sidewalk in front of the orphanage. I stepped out of my car, straightening my hat before I walked in side, seeing a rather odd sight. That sight, of course, being Ms. Peach with a metal bat standing next to a man lying on the ground. I raised an eyebrow, "You take him down Bella?" "Don't call me that Reese… no, I didn't. I found him like this." she said, lightly tapping him with her foot.

I nodded, giving a smile to the woman as I crouched, patting the man down. I gritted my teeth when I found two _very_ incriminating things. One of them was a bottle of chloroform next to a white rag in his pocket, while the other was a needle, filled with some unknown substance. "Sonuvabitch… lucky this guy didn't get one of them." I said, placing the evidence in a bag as I handcuffed the sick bastard. Peach's face went pale with fear when she saw them, then flushed with relief when I handcuffed him and stored them away in bags. "Any clue who knocked him out?" "No. One of the children said they saw a tall man knock him out with something shiny… my guess is it was a metal pipe of some kind." she said. I nodded, reaching back and pulling the man out of the plain view of the children. Best not scar them for life with the idea of what could've happened to them.

She smiled at me, "How're you Reese?" "Good… busy but, good. Had my hands wrapped up in a missing animal case recently." I said, walking over and sitting down on a nearby chair. Peach walked behind her desk, sitting in her all too familiar chair. She raised an eyebrow at me, "I didn't take you as the missing pet hunter type." "Well, it's kinda my fault she ran off. Little Husky Puppy named Ruby. I was chatting with the owner when she ran away so… yeah, trying to make up for it." I said, taking off my cap and running my hand back through my hair. I was already dealing with enough guilt for letting the little, innocent puppy run away on my account. Not to mention the image of Jaune's sobbing form, breaking down over her… it was almost too much weight to bear. Peach only smiled, "Well, I'm sure you'll find her soon enough. You tracked down who was stealing the cookies from us after all." "That was _you_ Peach." I said, smirking slightly at her. No doubt she was referring to the infamous _cookie_ _caper_ she put me on back when me and my sister were in the orphanage.

She giggled, "Oh I know, but still. I guess you best be taking him to the station hmm?" "Yeah… see you later mom." I said, walking over and lightly pecking her cheek. This time there was no sarcasm in my voice, no mocking tone. This time, I meant it. She smiled, a faint blush on her cheeks as she watched me hoist the man over my shoulders in a fireman's carry. I walked out the door, giving her a brief smile before the door shut behind me, leaving me with the unconscious criminal. I opened the back door, laying him across in the cruiser before getting in the front, starting the drive back to the station. All the while, I kept my eyes peeled for the little husky puppy, watching for her little barking and jumping around people. " _Don't worry, I'll find you girl._ "

" _I just hope Jaune's doing okay._ "

…

"Thank you! Come again!"

I said, waving towards the older gentleman as he walked out the door, guiding his dog by her new collar. I sat back down, reaching over and opening Weiss's little cabinet. I saw she was, just as she should've been, fast asleep. I smiled down at her just as I felt a pressure on my shoulder. "I have to say, she looks really cute when she's sleeping." "Yeah… just wish I didn't have to hide her so much." I muttered, looking over to see Blake leaning on my shoulder, leaning in to get a closer look at Weiss snuggling with her bear in her little crib. She giggled, "Well, you haven't done all that _much_ hiding her, now have you?" "Hehe… you know what I meant. I can't take her to the park, the zoo, I can't take her anywhere unless it's inside the _store_." I said, frowning down at Weiss. It was better than still being in that alley and -assumingly- wherever that one 'Adam' character would've taken her… but it was no way to grow up.

Blake leaned back, "Well, given the circumstances, I'd say you're a pretty good father." "Thanks Blake." I said, giving her a smile before I turned around, looking down to see Weiss's eyes slowly opening. She held out her hands towards me, letting out those little giggles again as I picked her up, cradling her in my arms. "Pretty clingy… hey, has she taken her first steps yet?" "No… then again, I _do_ carry her a lot…" I muttered, frowning slightly at her. She met my frown with one of her own, as if she were trying to imitate me. I smiled, and she smiled back. I scowled, and she scowled back. Blake started laughing, "Monkey see monkey do I guess." she said, leaning back against the counter. I nodded a few times, laughing along with her as Weiss joined us. I leaned down, rubbing my forehead against Weiss's -just to see what she would do. I stayed close and, sure enough, she leaned up… a little too fast.

"OW! You little… hehe… well, guess she can't get them _all_." I said through Blake and Weiss's laughter. I reached over, looking at my scroll to find that it was around twelve, nearing time for Blake's shift to be over. "Looks like it's almost quitting time for you. I better call Winter, ask her if she's coming in." "Need me to hold Weiss?" she asked, holding out her arms. I nodded, flashing her a smile in thanks as I handed her Weiss. The second Blake took her, Weiss started reaching up, taking handfuls of her long hair and nibbling on them. Blake didn't seem to mind that much, just pulling them out of her little mouth by tickling her. Weiss seemed to like their game, as no matter how many times Blake stopped her, she kept putting her hair in her mouth. I -reluctantly- turned away from the adorable spectacle, dialing Winter's number in my scroll.

I held it up to my ear as I waited… and waited… and waited. I was about to hang up when she answered, "Jaune?" "Yeah, just calling to see if you were coming in." I said. I heard what sounded like -oddly enough- rope snapping, a yelp of pain accompanying it. I raised an eyebrow as Winter spoke. "I'm uh… a bit _busy_ at the moment… sorry but, I don't think I can come IN!" she yelped at the last word, a high pitched squeal causing me to hold the scroll away from my ear. I simply said goodbye and hung up, trying to get the strange conversation out of my head. "She coming in?" "No… said she's busy with something else." I said, standing up and pressing on the small of my back, walking around and restocking as I normally did in the lulls between customers. Being one of the only pet shop owners in town had it's advantages… then again, people can only buy so many dog collars and toys. That and, not _everyone_ was cut out to own a pet.

"With _what_? This is her job isn't it?" "I… honestly I don't want to find out. Either way, guess I'm working a solo shift again." I said, stocking back a few dog collars. Blake walked over, still carrying Weiss in her arms. Though, she was at _least_ smart enough to stand behind the rack, so that she wouldn't be in plain view of the front door. "You need me to stay in?" "It's fine. I'm sure you've got other things to do. I handled solo shifts since I started the store, I can handle one more." I said, smiling at her. She looked like she was about to say something when I heard the familiar charm of the doorbell. Yang and Pyrrha immediately looked up from their dog bed before laying down again, as they often did when someone entered. I walked over, "Welcome to Beacon Pet Cen… ter…" I felt my face pale as I saw the woman walking in. The long brown hair, the designer clothes and fashion bag… but worst of all, that brown beret and sunglasses. Coco Adel had just walked into my store.

And Weiss was right out in the open.

"Blake! Hide Weiss! FAST!" I whispered, panic slipping into my voice as I stepped around, smiling at Coco. I looked over, seeing Blake stepping away, slowly moving back around the other side of the store as I kept Coco distracted. "Oh hey Coco! Sorry, just restocking the shelves. What brings you in today?" I asked, feeling my nerves spiking as my eyes kept trailing back to Blake, watching her stalk through the shelves, hiding at the slightest turn of Coco. I grabbed the nearby box, lifting it up as I walked behind the counter. "Not much Blondie, just looking for a dog collar. Got one that says 'Coco' on it?" she asked, pushing down her sunglasses. I raised an eyebrow… was she conceited (and or unoriginal) enough to name a dog after herself? Well… it _was_ Coco… "That's an… odd request. I think I might have one." I said, walking back to the collars. I saw Blake crouching on the other side of the counter, as if ready to either sprint around or leap over at a moments notice. " _The Adoption center!_ " I mouthed to her. She seemed to understand, slinking over there as I leaned down, finding the collars with names on them.

"Let's see, Cobie… Cocheta… Jezabel? What's that doing here?" I muttered, taking the collar off the rack. I shrugged, setting it down as I kept looking. I shifted through a few more until, finally, I found one that said 'Coco' on it. "How big of a dog?" "What's the biggest size you have?" she asked. I raised an eyebrow at her gaze, the small smirk aimed down at me she almost _always_ seemed to have. Something was going on her… I just couldn't figure out what. I grabbed out the four different collars that said Coco on it, ranging from 'Chihuahua' to 'Great Dane', with 'Cocker Spaniel' and 'Jack Russell Mini' sizes in between. I handed the chihuahua sized one first as she -to my surprise- clipped it on her wrist for a second like a bracelet. Then she gave it back. "Not a chance that's big enough." "Okay… how big is your dog?" I asked, trying to narrow down the search.

She shook her head, "This one." she said. I raised an eyebrow, about to hand it to her when she shook her head again. I was confused… then I saw her flip her hair up, pointing to the back of her neck. "Mind collaring me Jaune~" she asked, smirking as she saw my face tinge pink. With shaky hands I did as she asked, holding the collar in front of her before tightening it. She smiled, reaching back and pulling it _far_ tighter than I dared. She reached over, clipping a leash onto the back of her neck, placing it in my palm. "Walk me." "What!?" I asked, feeling my face _burning_ red as the girls suggestion. She was asking me to walk her like I'd walk a dog? I hadn't even _had_ to walk a dog (other than Ruby) in _months_! They new to stay close to me anyway! I gulped, nodding as I gently pulled back on the leash, only for her not to budge. I raised an eyebrow, pulling a bit harder.

Coco sighed, "You stink at this. I _meant_ jerk me around! Pull me by the collar! I'm a naughty girl! You have to show some force to get me to budge~" she said, somehow putting a sexual tinge onto her words despite the frustrated tone. I gulped, nodding as I jerked on the leash, like I would with a disobedient dog. She smiled at me, "Now you're getting it, just take me around the store before I buy this thing." "You could've TOLD me this way for you!" I said, jerking on her neck as I did so. She was starting to walk normally now at least, to the point I didn't have to jerk and pull to get her to move. We did about half a lap before she stopped, looking at a large harness. The thing was made for Dalmatians, but Coco didn't seem to care as she took it off the rack. "Hmm… Jaune? When's rush hour for you?" "Uhh… three o'clock?" I said, raising an eyebrow. I had a _bad_ feeling about where this was going. She only smiled, setting her beret and sunglasses on the shelf.

She looked back at me, "I'll give you a 20 lien tip if you let me strip down and try this on." "WHAT!?" I couldn't help but scream. I mean, this equipment was made for _dogs_! The fact that she's walking around, trying them on like it was _normal_ was odd enough! Let alone asking to _strip_ to try them on. She pouted, "Come on, please? You have my word I'll buy it afterwards." "That's not the issue!" I nearly shouted, looking away from her as she leaned down towards me. She sighed, picking up her sunglasses and pulling them back on. She walked over, placing a hand on my shoulder as she aimed down her sunglasses. "Let's make a deal Jaune. Come on, at _least_ be a businessman about this." "I… you… fine. We'll negotiate." I said, stepping back as I tried not to think about what we were negotiating over.

"I'll pay you double what you have marked on the harness _if_ you let me strip down, try it on, and walk me around the store with it." "No. What if someone sees you? That would _ruin_ my store if my customers thought _this_ is what I use the gear for!" I said, gesturing to her neck. She sighed, reaching up and lightly fingering her collar. She looked up in thought, tapping on the side of her glasses for a moment before she walked over, leaning closer to me. "Okay, double price, I strip down to my _underwear_ , and you walk me around in that back room over there." she said, pointing to my bedroom. I still shook my head, trying to get the idea of Coco in her underwear, a harness, and a dog collar walking around my bedroom. Coco sighed, stepping back away. "Dammit Jaune! What'll it get for me to walk around in that harness!?" "Your clothes, _on you_ , Coco." I said, giving her as much of a glare as I dared.

She sighed… but then she smiled, "Then how about this? I strip to nothing, put that on, put my clothes on _over_ it, and you walk me around. Then I buy it for double price. Sound good?" "Well… okay. I guess that could work. If I hear _anyone_ open the door though, I drop the leash and we both pretend not to know anything about it." I said. Coco nodded, smirking as she reached up, starting to unbutton her blouse as I looked away. I couldn't _believe_ I let her talk me into this… but then again, Coco was a good customer, and she had a _lot_ of sway with people. If she started rumors about my shop, they'd believe her. Frankly, I could deal without the bad business. "I've got one little condition Jaune. Turn around." I complied, blushing bright red as I saw her holding the harness, her only clothing her glasses, her bare rear exposed to me. She smirked, pushing up her glasses. " _You_ have to get the harness on me." "I… you… okay." I said meekly.

I reached over, cautiously leaning down, trying to ignore her bare rear right above my head. She was so close I didn't doubt my hair was tickling her. I held the harness beneath her legs, watching her step into the holes as I slowly moved up, stopping when I felt the slightest resistance. She smirked, "Now the front Jaune." she said, keeping that same smirk on her face as I moved my hands in front of her, pulling the harness over her breasts, latching it into place behind her. She stepped closer, my eyes widening as I felt her rear against my groin. She smirked, "Like this feeling Jaune… who am I kidding? That feeling on my butt let's me _know_ you do~" "Why do you torment me?" I muttered, looking away from her. She giggled, walking forward and -just as she promised- pulling on her underwear and clothes, cracking her neck as she slipped on her beret. Then she turned and, other than maybe the slight impressions, it was mostly impossible to tell she was wearing the harness.

"Simple really: It's _fun_. A little poke from a stick and you're claws and venom for almost an hour. A little peck on the cheek and you're a tomato for a week. Best part is, you're too honest with yourself to stop me. You'd never pull off being boring, it's not _you_. So, you can either _accept_ that I'm going to tease you and go along with it, " she leaned further back into me, taking my hands in hers. "Or, you can fight it, and make it _much_ worse." she said, forcing my hands up to where they were right over her breasts. I felt my face burning as she smirked back at me, hooking her leg against mine. She spun around, knocking both of us to the ground as I looked up, seeing her sitting on my chest, her hands next to my head. "Next time I come in, I'm wearing the harness and the collar. You can let me walk the _right_ way in that little adoption center of yours, or… well, your business is gonna hit a _real_ dry patch." she said, smirking as she leaned down, pecking my cheek.

She stood, pulling me to my feet before she unclipped the leash from her collar, clipping it beneath her shirt to the harness. "Now come on, I'd like to get a better feel for this thing. Don't agree I'll strip naked right now." "Okay okay! Come on!" I said, tugging on the leash as Coco bit her lip, following me around to the front. She stopped by it, her face tinged pink as she grabbed her purse, pulling out exactly what she owed. "Not taking them off?" "I've got to break them in, Fox prefers the feeling of used leather. So, that's what I'm doing." she said, turning around and walking out. She unclipped the leash, laying it in her purse as she started walking, turning around. She stopped at the door, fiddling with her front as I saw her pants fall down, exposing her underwear and part of the harness. She lightly pat her rear, "Don't forget. Dry patch." she said, pulling her pants back on before walking out of the store. Even after she left I stayed looking in the same direction, letting my blush die down. I heard the door to the adoption center open. "Is she _gone_ yet? It's been twenty minutes!... Jaune? Jaaaune? Jaune!" Blake tried shouting, but I wouldn't respond to that, still looking out the door. Wondering. Thinking.

" _Why, oh WHY do I keep letting her in?_ "


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter fifteen: So close… yet so far away

"Hey, Jaune… there's something I've been meaning to ask."

I looked over, raising an eyebrow as I saw Blake staring at me. It was nearing quitting time (after the embarrassing incident with Coco), what could she want? "What is it?" I asked. She looked around, leaning down and petting Yang for a moment. Said dog seemed to bask in the attention, seemingly smiling as Blake spoke. "Where's Ruby? I mean, normally she's bounding around your feet or, pouncing into your lap." she asked. I felt the smile fall from my face as I turned away, the memories of the missing puppy flooding back now that I didn't have the panic of Weiss nearly being discovered, customers to deal with, or that whole issue with Coco to drown out the sobbing voice in the back of my head. "You're just now asking?" I asked. Though, out of all the things it said, _that_ was the strangest. She'd been missing all day and Blake just now asked?

Blake's face flushed, "Well, I mean, you didn't _act_ like anything was wrong so, I figured you'd just had to send her somewhere for a while. Take her to the vet for an overnight examination or something. _Is_ there something wrong?" she asked, her face going from mildly embarrassed to concerned… and still mildly embarrassed, the blush was still there. I sighed, sitting down on my stool as Pyrrha and Yang both looked up as if they too wanted to hear what I had to say. "She's… I don't know. I took my eyes off her for a minute in the park and… she vanished. She just… _vanished_. I spent all day looking for her and even the police started looking… nothing." I said, frowning as I looked to the floor. Yet no tears came… I wouldn't let them now. Breaking down wouldn't help anyone.

Blake walked over, laying a hand on my shoulder, "Well… I'm sure she's okay. Ruby's a smart puppy… she'll be okay." she said, giving me a semi-comforting smile. I returned it with a warmer one of my own… I could tell she was trying but… comforting people didn't really seem to be her strong suit. I turned away, looking out towards the door before I sighed, "It's my fault… I hadn't been paying attention to her and, and she ran away I… I just, I wish I'd done something sooner. I wish I'd… I wish I… I…" I leaned down, laying my head in my hand as I fought back the tears. I was trying not to cry, trying not to return to that roller coaster of emotions I knew would send me spiraling again. I felt a hand running over my back, trying to lessen the pain I felt. I looked up, blue eyes meeting amber ones as she leaned down, wrapping her arms around me.

I froze for a second before I joined, wrapping my arms around her and leaning into her shoulder. "I wish I could say I knew how you felt… but I don't. I don't think anyone does. I'm… I'm not good at comforting people but… if it helps… I'll try…" she trailed off as I leaned back, looking to see her face flushed with embarrassment as she faced the wall, her eyes down towards the ground. I leaned back into her shoulder, wrapping my arms tighter for a second before I let go, both of us leaning back. I smiled at her, "Thanks, Blake… but, I think I'm okay. I just… I wish I could do more. With Weiss and the animals and the store, I can't just leave and go out searching for her… I mean, where would I even start looking? I mean it's not like I… wait a second… THAT'S IT!" I yelled, jumping out of my stool and dashing over to the closet.

Blake followed, raising an eyebrow as I grabbed out what looked to be a small ball. It was the same one I'd thrown to Ruby the other day. The same one we always used to play fetch. "Uh… are you okay?" she asked, her voice both concerned and… well, frankly weirded out. I nodded a few times, walking over to Pyrrha and Yang before I whistled, the two of them popping up. "Blake, I know I'm asking you to stay overtime, but I need you to watch Weiss while I'm gone, please?" I asked, hoping and praying she would say yes. She looked between me and Weiss, her face growing more and more confused… eventually, she just shrugged, "Uh… okay? I mean… I'll wait until you get back… I guess…" she said, sitting down on my stool. I breathed out a sigh of relief as I dashed over, not even thinking as I pecked her lips.

"Thanks, Bla-" I froze at the door, slowly turning around as I felt my face explode into blush. Blake's looked about the same as she reached up, gently laying her left hand's fingers on her lips. That was, until she looked at me, completely stone-faced. "That… didn't happen." she said. I nodded a few times, "Yeah… uh, yeah." I said, turning around and dashing out the door before I yelled for Pyrrha to follow. Yang stayed behind as a guard while Pyrrha bounded over to me, the two of us running down the sidewalk. " _Why did it take me so long to realize!? I've got one of the best tracking dogs this side of owning a bloodhound! If anyone can pick up her scent, it's her._ " I thought, kicking myself for not thinking of it sooner. The wind flowing past my face seemed to rekindle the embers of hope that Ruby was still alive, still somewhere I could find her.

By the time we got to the park, I had a (somewhat insane) smile on my face. It was a smile filled by hope… or maybe madness, kind of hard to tell at this stage. I dashed into the park, stopping at the familiar bench I always did, the one where Ruby went missing the first time after I talked to Reese. I held down the small ball. "Okay Pyrrha, go find Ruby!" I said. Pyrrha sniffed the ball for a second, her leaning down and sniffing the ground, slowly trotting off the sidewalk and down the hillside. I followed, keeping my eyes peeled for any sign of the small puppy. Pyrrha walked down the hill, trotting along until she reached what seemed to be a small tree. She looked up at me, barking a few times. "Find something girl?" I asked, getting on one knee to be at her level. I leaned down, raising an eyebrow when I saw what looked to be a small, ice-cream cone shaped pin. Almost like the kind that would come on overalls.

" _Where'd this come from?_ " I wondered, holding it up and looking at it. So either that meant Ruby had coughed this up… or someone had taken Ruby and had left it in the same general area where she'd been… taken… that didn't make much more sense than the first one did it? I held the ball up to Pyrrha, "Is this it girl?" I asked. Sure enough, she sniffed the ground before she whimpered, crouching on the ground and rubbing at her nose with her paws. The sign that she hadn't found any more of a scent. I sighed… then I figured it was worth a try. I held up the ice-cream pin. "Here, try smelling for this." I said. Pyrrha leaned up, sniffing the small pin before she seemed to pick up the trail, barking as she started heading out of the park, sniffing all the while. "Okay… maybe Ruby _didn't_ swallow that pin and cough it up…" I muttered, following the large German shepherd as she led me across the road.

It took maybe ten minutes before Pyrrha finally stopped at a large building, sniffing near the door. I looked up, raising an eyebrow as I saw the name of the place. " _Kindred Hearts Orphanage? Why would the scent lead us here?_ " I thought. I looked in, seeing a light was on inside. I reached up, knocking on the door for a second before Pyrrha just reached up, biting the handle and pulling it open. "Oh… huh, figured it would be locked." I muttered, walking in with Pyrrha at my side, who continued to sniff around the place. I looked around, seeing that the entrance was relatively simplistic -with a desk towards the center and what looked to be a multitude of children's paintings on the walls. Beneath one of those walls a young, pink-haired girl stood sweeping the floor. I turned back to the desk, seeing a tall woman walking towards me. She had bright blonde hair tied into a bun, piercing blue eyes that flicked down to Pyrrha before looking back up towards me. She was clad in what looked to be a simple white shirt and a long orange skirt.

"Hello young man, how can I help you?" she asked, her voice as kind as her smile would imply. I smiled back, whistling to reign Pyrrha back in towards me as I held up the small ice-cream themed pin. "Pyrrha tracked the scent on this pin to here. Does it look familiar?" I asked, handing her the pin. She leaned down, looking at the small object for a few moments before she smiled, "Well, _I've_ never seen this little thing, but I have a feeling I know who it belongs to. Wait right here." she said, turning around and walking through a door to reveal what may have been a bedroom. I leaned down, rubbing behind Pyrrha's ear for a second before she walked off, heading into that bedroom and following the tall woman. When she came back, she was leading a short girl into the room with her.

That girl had two different colored eyes -pink and white for left and white respectively- and was clad in what looked to be a pair of overalls with, sure enough, a single pin missing. I grabbed the pin off the desk, smiling at the little girl as I got on one knee. "Hi there. Is this your pin?" I asked, holding up the little ice cream pin to match its companion on her other shoulder. She looked down, her eyes widening a bit as she nodded a few times, taking the pin from me and trying to fix it to her overalls. "Here, let me help." I said, reaching over and slowly taking the pin from her, threading it back through the proper place in the fabric. She looked up at me, giving me a small smile, one I gladly returned. I stood, "Pyrrha! Here girl!" I nearly shouted. The familiar German shepherd bounded towards me, running back around my leg, looking straight at the frightened girl, the one that was now gripping onto the taller woman's leg.

I chuckled, "It's okay, Pyrrha won't hurt you. Go ahead, pet her." I said, Pyrrha getting the idea and leaning down so the girl wouldn't have to reach up to pet her. The girl reached out a shaky hand as Pyrrha rubbed against it, the girl slowly getting over her nerves and smiling at the large German shepherd. The mistress of the orphanage (at least if I had to guess the woman's profession) looked up, smiling at me. "Well, thank you for bringing back Neo's pin mister. Though… might I ask what led you to stumble on it in the first place?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me. I looked down at Pyrrha, frowning slightly as I remembered the faint ray of hope I'd had now being dashed away by arriving here. I sighed, "My dog… Ruby. She got… _I_ , lost her in the park yesterday. I was hoping Pyrrha could track her scent but… I guess I got my hopes up for nothing… but hey. At least I got you your pin back huh Neo?" I said, giving a sad smile towards her.

She looked up, frowning at me for a second before she walked over. I was about to ask what she was doing when she wrapped her arms around my leg, rubbing against my waist as if to comfort me. I smiled, rubbing a hand over her head, "Hey, it's okay. It wasn't your fault she went missing." I said. The girl pulled back, looking up at me with a sad and -though this could've been my imagination- guilty expression. The woman on the other hand only smiled at her, a warm smile that reminded me distinctly of my mother when she watched me or my sisters doing something right. The smile of a proud parent… or, guardian I guess is the best term here. She turned to me, "Well, I do hope you find your… wait a moment, you don't happen to know a 'Reese Chloris' do you?" she asked.

I nodded, "Well… I don't really know her but, I've bumped into her on occasion, yeah. Why do you ask?" She looked down at Neo for a moment, a brief worry flashing across her face like a blade before she looked up at me, keeping that same quizzical expression. "She was here just last night, responding to an intruder. She said she was looking for a little husky named Ruby, kept saying it was her fault…" she said, looking up at me. I raised an eyebrow… how was it Reese's fault? I mean, yeah she distracted me by talking to me for a few seconds but, wasn't I the one who asked to sit down? I… well doesn't really matter now, does it?

"She blames herself… and I blame myself. Funny how that works huh?" I said, giving the woman a faint smile. She saw right through it, frowning at me for a moment before she looked down, tapping Neo on the shoulder. "Head on to bed Neo, and tell Dew I'll be there in a moment." she said. Neo nodded, giving me one last sad glance before she turned around, disappearing behind a door that I assumed led to a bedroom. Meanwhile, the mistress of the orphanage looked at me, frowning still. "I seem to have forgotten my manners today. I'm Bella Peach." she said, extending a hand. I took it, her soft fingers nearly wrapped by my larger hand. I noticed that -standing right next to me- she was a bit shorter than I was as well.

"Jaune Arc." I said simply. She nodded, raising an eyebrow before she looked up, scratching her chin as her eyes became slits, looking at my face. I took a step back, feeling slightly uneasy at the woman's examination of me. " _That's_ why you looked so familiar! You work at the Beacon Pet Center right?" she asked. I just nodded, leaning down and rubbing behind Pyrrha's neck. Though, at this point, it was more for my own comfort than hers… still, she didn't seem to mind the extra attention. "Yeah, I'm the owner and -wait… normally I'd say 'sole employee' but, since I hired Winter and Blake I really can't." I said, unable to keep the awkward smile off my face. I'd been saying that as my introduction to people since… well, since I _started_ the store… kind of hard to break the habit. "I see… this, Ruby. Was she up for adoption?"

"Never."

I answered instinctively, Peach flinching back slightly as she noticed my stone gaze. I felt my face tinge pink as I backed off, giving a nervous chuckle. "Sorry, old habit. No, she was my pet. Not for lack of trying to get her adopted either. Nobody wanted to adopt her and, well, I couldn't just throw a puppy out on the street so… I kept her." I said, rousing a small -albeit nervous- chuckle from the woman. I wasn't sure if she was intimidated by my answer a few moments ago or… no, that was it, _definitely_ it. "Well… I find it rather hard to believe no one would want to adopt a husky puppy if what I've heard is right." she said, leaning back on her desk, trying to subtly reach behind it to grab what I didn't doubt was a taser or a can of pepper spray. I took a step back, just in case. "Well… it wasn't that they didn't want _her_ but, they didn't want her sister." I said.

She raised an eyebrow… I needed no further encouragement. "Well, I _call_ her her sister, could be _completely_ unrelated for all I know. I found the two of them living on the street together and… well, Yang acted like Ruby was her baby. If she wasn't a big, half-dhole half-fox I might say she was her mother. She's uh… _very_ particular about how you handle Ruby. Took me a month before she didn't growl at me and… well, most of my customers don't have that kind of patience… except for Ren, I guess." I said, my mind immediately going to the magenta eyed restaurant owner. Peach nodded a few times, leaning away from her desk as she seemed to realize I wasn't about to try and kill her for what she suggested a few minutes ago. I looked down at my scroll, my eyes widening as I saw the time.

"Oh! I better get going, nice meeting you Ms. Peach!" I said, dashing out the door, not waiting to hear her response. Pyrrha followed, me speed-walking as she casually trotted along. She looked to the ground, whimpering slightly. It was such an unusual sound for the German Shepherd that I actually stopped walking, leaning down and petting her. "Hey, it's okay. You did your best… we just got the wrong scent is all." I said, smiling down at her. If her jumping up and licking my face was anything to go by, it seemed to work. I chuckled, moving the dog down onto the ground before I pet her again, standing back up. "Come on girl, "

"We'll find her… eventually."

…

" _That was Ruby's owner?_ "

I couldn't help but think as I walked towards the broom closet, casually setting the broom back in and heading to bed like I normally would. When I walked in all six eyes in the room turned to me. Dew, Neo, and of course Ruby. Well… at least Ruby was _facing_ my direction, her eyes were closed -but her _ears_ perked up anyway. I walked over to them, all three relaxing when they noticed it was just me. I looked at the blonde haired Dew for a second, violet eyes meeting my green and blue ones. "Is everything alright May?" she asked, immediately realizing something was off at just a look in my eyes… she was really good at that. I looked down at Ruby, whose little silver eyes had just opened to gaze at me. "Ru- er… Snowball's owner was just here."

Dew's eyes widened as she looked at Neo, who only nodded to confirm it. After all, she'd been the one he'd talked to. Ruby seemed to perk up at the news, standing up and giving a worried little bark towards us. Me and Neo's eyes met, and I could tell we both were thinking the same thing. " _We need to ask her tonight._ " Dew leaned over, grabbing Ruby and holding her close. She'd grown attached to her… I mean heck, we _all_ had. She was a nice change from the normal things of the orphanage. "That was really close… good thing that big German Shepherd can't talk." Dew said. I raised an eyebrow, looking between the two for a second.

"Wait, what?"

"You didn't see that big, German shepherd that walked through here a few minutes ago? Weren't you in the front room?" she asked, in turn raising an eyebrow at me. I felt my face pale for a moment before I looked away, my eyes skittering the floor almost like Ruby would be if she weren't in a hug-hold by Dew. "I didn't take my eyes off the broom, it would've looked suspicious… I uh, well, I didn't _hear_ the German Shepherd though…" I said, feeling my face suddenly turn like my hair was I looked back up. Neo just had this sort of blank stare on her face, a vague sense of worry behind it that was no doubt directed at Ruby. Dew, on the other hand, was giving me an unimpressed gaze, one that suppressed a kind of smugness that -on the face of anyone else- would manifest as a sneer.

Neo reached over, petting Ruby before looking up at Dew. "I'm with you Neo… I don't want to let her go…" Dew said, as if somehow able to understand the mute girl… how I wasn't sure. I nodded, sitting down on the edge of the bed as I saw some of the other girls coming in, all giving a brief smile in Ruby's direction before changing into their night clothes. I just shook my head, "We won't let someone take her from us, don't worry. We just have to hide her… and we have to be _really_ careful now." I said. They all nodded in silent agreement. We _all_ knew what that meant. Her owner had been _so_ close to finding her, and if he came here again… well, there weren't that many places in the large bedroom to hide a little puppy. I looked at Neo, her eyes flicking between Dew and Ruby, an unanswered question holding sway in them.

"Dew… can you keep a secret?"

I asked, suddenly aware of how stupid it sounded. Here we were, keeping a _puppy_ , a living, breathing, _puppy_ , a secret from Ms. Peach, and yet I had to ask if she could keep a secret. I shouldn't have been surprised at the 'are you kidding me?' look she gave me. "Okay, stupid question. Here's a better one, can _everyone_ here keep a secret? From Ms. Peach and the boys?" I asked. Dew looked up in thought for a moment. Being the sort of 'second in command' (and by that I mean second most popular under Nebula) meant that Dew knew most everyone. Who liked who, who did what, it didn't really matter. If it was about people in the orphanage, she knew it. "There are a few who can't but, how would we exclude them?" she asked.

I frowned, my eyebrows knitting together as I tried to think of a way… though, that effort appeared fruitless after about five minutes. I sighed, "We can't really… we'll just have to risk it. Make them promise not to say anything and hope for the best." I said. I mean, they all clearly wanted Ruby here, but would some of the more 'goody-two-shoes' or 'gossiper' girls go off and tell the boys -or worse- Ms. Peach? There was only one way to find out… though, I had a feeling they'd be like me and Neo were when we found out -shocked and bewildered, but accepting at least. Dew nodded a few times, "Okay… want me to get Nebula to have everyone stay awake after Ms. Peach puts us to bed?" I took a breath… there was no going back once I told her to. I looked at Ruby for support, but she just gave me a cute little bark. I took it (probably incorrectly) as her telling me it was a good idea.

"Yeah… we've got something _big_ to tell you guys."

…

"Any luck?"

Blake asked as I walked through the door, shutting it behind Pyrrha. I shook my head, frowning down at the somehow disgruntled looking German shepherd. I didn't even know a dog _could_ look disgruntled but, there was the proof, right in front of me. "No… we found a little girl's overall pin but… no Ruby." I said, frowning as I stepped back behind the counter, sliding past Blake and leaning down to the familiar drawer. I smiled when I noticed little Weiss, curled up and sleeping in her crib. I leaned down, about to grab her. Then I shot up, turning around and holding up my arm, coughing into it. Blake raised an eyebrow, "Are you okay?" she asked, leaning over so that she was at least in my field of view.

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm alright. It's just-" I started coughing again, a slight pain in my chest as I leaned back, wiping at my mouth. Blake laid a hand on my shoulder, looking over me for a second. "You might be getting sick." she said matter-of-factly. How she was talking you'd think she was a doctor. I shook my head, leaning down and lifting Weiss gently into my arms, giving Blake a faint smile. "It's just a cough, It'll be gone by tomorrow, don't worry." I said, turning and coughing over my shoulder as to not hit Weiss or Blake, just in case I really _was_ sick. I walked into the back room, feeling her diaper before -noticing it was surprisingly dry- setting her back in her crib. I walked towards the bathroom, Blake stopping at the door as I turned and locked it. I tossed my clothes into the hamper, not even really thinking as I walked back in, falling back onto the bed. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine… tired is all. It's been a long day." I said, giving her a faint smile before coughing into my elbow again. Maybe she had a point… oh well, not like it was the _first_ time I'd ever been sick. Blake walked over, giving one last concerned glance before pulling the covers over me, turning out the light as she walked away. "I'll lock up for you… and Jaune?" she asked, turning around, her eyes practically glowing in the dim light of the room. I looked up, my eyes asking the question my words didn't. I saw her face tinge pink as she turned away, "I'm not counting that as my first kiss." she said. I felt my face turn even more confused… then I remembered, my face burning as I realized what she meant. I'd -in effect- stolen her first kiss, on complete accident no less! "That never happened… remember?" I said, giving her a faint smile. She turned back, giving me that same smile in return.

"Yeah… never happened."

…

"Did you find Ruby?"

"She's at the Kindred Hearts Orphanage… she's okay." I said, smiling at the blonde haired faunus. Yang let out a sigh of relief, leaning back against the wall and slowly sliding back into our dog bed. After a few moments though, that relief turned to curiosity and -more subtle- anger. "Why didn't you bring her back?" she asked. I had a feeling she'd ask that. Why? Why wouldn't I just bring the adorable puppy back home to her loving sister?

"It wouldn't have solved anything. She would've just run away again. The _last_ thing she needs right now is to be near Jaune in her dog state. It'll just tease her, and that voice in her head is only going to get worse. At least now it might calm down a little. Besides, I can't get Jaune to love her if she's here." I explained, leaning back against the wall, tail wrapped around my waist so Yang couldn't try pulling me down again. She looked up at me, the confusion plain on her face. "How exactly do you plan on making Jaune love her?" she asked.

I smiled, "The same way I'd get him to fall in love with any human: Get them to start dating." I said simply. This didn't serve to soothe Yang's curiosity. Based on the dumb look on her face, it actually did quite the opposite. I sighed, slowly shaking my head before I looked up towards the ceiling, trying to think how to explain it to the fox faunus. "Hmm… We're going to dress Ruby in normal clothes, get her to hide her tail, and… I guess feeding Jaune some line about how she's from 'out of town' or, she wants him to show her around. With any luck, they'll hit it off, and have a budding romance so passionate he won't even _care_ that she's a faunus." I said, smiling down at Yang.

Yang slowly nodded, "Okay… buuuuuut how exactly are we going to dress Ruby up anyway? Those kids at the orphanage are probably _really_ attached to her now, not to _mention_ how we're even going to _tell_ Ruby about this match-making plan of yours when we can't even leave unless Jaune's with us." she asked. I felt my face pale as I slowly sunk down to the floor, looking straight ahead, a blank stare on my face. I saw Yang waving her hand in front of me, calling my name a few times. I turned,

"I… well we'll… have to… I haven't really thought that part through yet…"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter sixteen: New players and old threats

"Everyone's here May… now what's the big secret?"

I heard Dew ask, her eyes somewhat bored as the girls in the orphanage gathered around. I saw Neo sitting next to me, nervously petting Ruby as I gulped, looking down at her one more time. On one hand, telling them would ensure no one would freak out if they accidentally saw her, but on the _other_ , they might just freak out _now_. " _Well… guess we were screwed from the get-go huh?_ " I thought, giving a wry smile at Neo before I cleared my throat, facing everyone else. I grabbed Ruby, holding her high enough everyone could see her. "You all know snowball right? Well… it turns out her name's Ruby… and uh… maybe you just need to see for yourselves." I said, setting Ruby down behind the bed.

"Ruby… turn human."

The girls all looked at me like I was nuts, Neo with worry, and Ruby with apprehension. I looked over, "Before she'll turn, we _all_ have to promise that we won't tell _anyone_ what we see here tonight. Hands above your heads! No crossing fingers!" I added quickly, seeing as so many people had their hands behind their backs. Everyone held them up, uttering a chorus of 'we promise' towards me. I nodded, turning to face Ruby. "They'll find out eventually Ruby… go ahead, show them." I said, giving her the most reassuring smile I could. She looked at the ground, still somewhat apprehensive, before she finally let out a little bark, crawling beneath the bed. About ten seconds later, I saw her slowly standing up, exposing herself to everyone, her tail wrapping around her waist as she smiled. "Hi girls… uh, I'm Ruby. I uh… Nice to meet- no wait, you've all met me… already, haven't you?" she said, her eyes flicking between them.

They just stood there, wide eyed at the tall woman before us, where once there stood an adorable little puppy. Dew was the first one to walk forward, as eyes wide as she stopped next to Ruby, revealing herself to be up to the faunus girl's waist at best. She slowly reached a hand up, running her fingers through the fur on Ruby's tail. "You're… you're real…" she said, her voice an awed whisper. Ruby just nodded, letting out a nervous giggle as she let her tail trail forward, lightly brushing against Dew's torso. All the girls started walking towards her, as if not believing what they were seeing. That's when the questions started pouring in.

"What are you?"

"Is she a monster?"

"Are you still our puppy?"

"Should we call you Ruby or Snowball?"

"How did you get so big?"

"Where'd little snowball go?"

"Everyone calm down!" Nebula said, demonstrating her role as the most popular girl by hushing everyone else, her small group of close friends all surrounding her as she turned to face Ruby. She walked over, revealing her to be only around the girl's navel as she turned her gaze up. Despite this, Ruby stepped back, as if intimidated by the commanding aura the little girl gave off. "Before we do anything else, let me just say this: DO NOT transform outside of this room, in the daytime, or basically any time but now. If Ms. Peach sees you, it's a problem." she said. Ruby only nodded a few times, smiling at Nebula before she sat down on the nearby bed, Neo migrating over to lay her head in her lap.

"Why were you in Neo's bag?" I asked, deciding against letting Nebula establish any more rules for Ruby. Ruby looked down at Neo for a few seconds, trailing her hands along her hair before she frowned, her eyes saddening. "I was running away. My last owner…" she reached up, holding a hand to her eyes, as if it was the only thing keeping her from crying. Sure enough, when her hand went back to Neo, a few drops of water could be seen suddenly appearing in Neo's hair. "They were bad?" Octavia asked, a lot of the girls glaring at one another, as if swearing vengeance against whoever would dare hurt Ruby. Ruby shook her head, her eyes suddenly angry. "No! He was… he was great. He was one of the best people I'd ever known! I… he cared about me. Other than my family he was the first one to really care about me. I just… I couldn't stand it…" she said, the anger in her eyes turning towards herself.

Neo looked up, her eyes flashing pink and brown in a wordless question, one that Ruby surprisingly understood. "He… he was the best thing that ever happened to me. I cared about him so much but… he'll never see me. He'll never see the _real_ me just, just that little puppy. I can… I can never _talk_ to him, never ask him how his day was or, or comfort him when something bad happens or…" Ruby looked away from Neo, her face tinting red. Dew walked over to her, laying a hand on her shoulder as a small, knowing smile graced her lips. It seemed her intuition had revealed to her what the rest of us were blind to. "You liked him?" she asked.

Ruby gave a slight glare, "He was the best thing that ever _happened_ to me! I love him! I just," she sighed, a few tears gathering in her silver orbs. "I couldn't take it anymore. He was always so close, _so close_ and I just, I just couldn't do _anything_! All I could do was, was give a few little barks and… aaand… he'd just pet me, smile… that's all I was… I was just that, cute little puppy… how c-could he, ever..." her voice was growing shakier by the second, to the point that Neo had stood, wrapping her arms around the taller faunus. Dew walked to the other side, doing the same. I walked around them, jumping up and wrapping my arms around her neck, letting her weep into my shoulder as the three of us tried to comfort her.

It was a few minutes later when she pulled away, her eyes still shining with tears as we gave her a bit of space. She wiped her eyes, smiling at us as her tail started wagging, "Thanks. I just… I wanted to be more -I still do! I want to be more to him than just 'that cute little puppy'. I want… I want him to love me the same way I love him but, he can't. He probably doesn't even care that I ran away…" she muttered, curling nearly into a ball on the bed. Neo looked over, walking and motioning to Dew. The girl with the almost supernaturally uncanny intuition nodded a few times, as if understanding every little thing the silent girl was saying. "That's impossible. According to Neo, Jaune was almost in _tears_ because you ran away! He was looking for _you_! He misses you Ruby… he really does care." she said. Rather than the relief or doubt that Dew (and I) expected, what she got was confusion.

"How can you understand her?" she asked. I looked between the two… I'd been wondering that for awhile as well. Looking around a few other girls nodded between themselves, even Nebula eyeing her best friend. Dew raised an eyebrow at Ruby, then spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"By reading her mind. Duh."

Everyone looked at one another, all raising an eyebrow towards the normally quiet, snarky girl with the bum leg. Unsurprisingly, the only one not shocked at this abnormal thing was Ruby: The naked girl with the long dog tail. Dew looked around for a few minutes, raising an eyebrow, "What? You girls can't do that?" she asked. Every single person shook their heads, only Neo looking up and raising an eyebrow at her. I saw Dew's eyes suddenly latch onto Neo's, as if she were in love for just a few seconds. Dew started speaking aloud, as if she were answering questions. "No… no, of course it wasn't a secret… I didn't _know_ that, I just thought nobody liked you… okay, okay I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." It took a few minutes before it clicked that she was talking to Neo… inside her _head_.

Neo, shockingly, seemed to be answering her as well, further solidifying Dew's claim that she was a mind reader. The smallest girl in the orphanage nodding, glaring, and giving light grunts towards Dew when appropriate. Rather than the shocked gasps of Ruby… everyone just kind of stared. I mean, this was a girl most of us had known… well, _forever_. We'd all grown up with her yet, no one knew she had this power. That being said, suddenly finding out that an adorable little puppy is actually a faunus and has secretly been hiding out from an owner she loves… well, that kind of makes _anything_ easy to believe. A beowolf could bust down the door and I wouldn't honestly be that surprised.

After a couple seconds all eyes slowly shifted to Nebula, everyone looking to the popular, purple haired girl for guidance. She cleared her throat. "If anyone ever finds out about Ruby in her puppy form -and it _better_ not be because of one of you" she glared ominously at the girls around her, "-then we are only to refer to her as _snowball_. Only call Ruby, _Ruby_ , if she's in her human-looking state. No one's gonna believe it's a coincidence when they find out a puppy of that name and the _exact_ breed and size went missing. We call her snowball, there's a chance."

"Now, everyone but my girls, Neo and May go to bed. Ruby, go back into snowball form before Ms. Peach shows up. Stay beneath the bed until one of us gets you." she said. Without hesitation everyone obeyed, all really unsure of what to do next. Ruby went beneath a bed and an adorable little yip was heard. Nebula took one look at Dew, "I want a full explanation… later. We have _much_ bigger things to talk about."

At that the six of us migrated to the center of the floor, me and Neo leaning against her bed as Nebula and Dew leaned on the one across from us, Octavia and Gwen on either side, facing each other. Nebula looked between us all, "So… anyone else feel bad for Ruby?" she asked, to which she received a mutual agreement… well, a nod from Neo was really the closest you could get but still, agreement was agreement. She nodded a few times, "I want to help her as much as you girls do… and we _will_ help her, but we can't do it without some rules." she said. All of 'Nebula's girls' rolled their eyes. Nebula was infamous for her 'rules' when it came to certain things. "The Micromanager to end all Micromanagers" they called her.

"Rule one: We do _not_ let _ANYONE_ know two things. One, that Ruby's part puppy. Two, that she's staying here. If people find out she isn't human, someone could take her away. I don't want to lose her, not anymore than you do." she said, gesturing at Neo. Neo just looked at Dew, who leaned over and whispered… whatever it was Neo was thinking back into Nebula's ear. She just nodded approvingly, "Good. Rule two: We're going to be _subtle_ -Gwen- we can't do this the loud way. I'm thinking maybe snag some makeup, underwear, a dress or two from Ms. Peach, with time between each one. We _can't_ risk making it anything more." she said. Gwen didn't bother to glare at her for that comment, given the fact that -based on rumors- it was completely true. Gwen was about as subtle as a train wreck, and about as destructive if her temper was anything to go off of. "What… _exactly_ do we plan on doing?" I asked. Nebula only smiled,

"We're getting her what she wants; to make her owner see her as more than a puppy."

… **(a/n-** _ **speaking**_ **of her owner… crap, where's my soundboard? Oh well, moments gone.)**

" _I don't think I've experienced so much pain since… EVER…_ "

I thought, blue eyes shining out, gazing through blond hair as I groaned, shutting them as soon as I saw the light. It felt like someone had taken a jackhammer to the back of my head… and the front of my head… and both sides… and my _ears_. When I could finally open my eyes, I saw everything laid out just like it was the night before, Weiss in her crib nearby, sleeping contently. I cringed as I moved up my hand… just _moving_ brought on new spurts of pain with it, a sudden acute awareness of the heat on my body. " _Water…_ " I thought. It started looping in my head as I tried to move, wanting to cool the inferno that seemed to have taken hold of me. I'd gotten both arms shakily on the bed before I collapsed, panting as I planted face-first into the pillow. " _What kind of… uhhh…_ " it hurt to even _think_ at this point.

I reached up a hand, feeling the pain slowly numbing to a dull, aching tiredness the more I moved, as if simply pins and needles from a long dormancy. Long, useless fingers stumbled around my desk, fumbling for my scroll before finally brushing across something that _somewhat_ resembled glass. I pulled shaking hands around it, moving it back up above me before I felt it slap down on my face, my hand flopping uselessly to my side. "Ow…" the voice that slipped from my throat wasn't even mine, but a hoarse, scratchy version of my own. I tried grabbing the scroll with my right hand (having given up on my left) only to find it just as difficult, gently flipping it onto the bed so I could see it. Tapping the button to turn it on revealed a lot. It was four am. I'd had no missed calls. Oh yeah, and WHY DID I HAVE MY BRIGHTNESS TURNED ALL THE WAY UP!

After squinting and fumbling with the mechanism for the brightness I finally opened contacts, dialing the number of the only person enough of an early bird (or enough of a madman) to be up at this hour. After just a few minutes, I heard him pick up. "Are you dying?" was the first response. Despite my weakened state (and how death seemed like a _preeetty_ tempting alternative to what I was going through right now) I couldn't help but smile at that. "Clo… nouh…" crap, I couldn't even _talk_. Suddenly I heard movement on the other side of the line, the sound of cloth rustling against other cloth. No doubt Ren was getting dressed. I heard Nora barking, and vaguely hoped it wouldn't (somehow) wake Weiss. "I'll be right over. _Don't, move._ " I heard him say, his voice suddenly much more concerned.

I ended the call, falling back, suddenly grateful I'd given him that extra key a few months ago. I sat there, staring at the ceiling for a few moments, eyes glazing as I felt my thoughts start running together. I wasn't sure how long I sat there, how long I waited. It felt like an eternity when I heard the outside door opening, shutting back as the security system was disabled. I heard Yang and Pyrrha standing up, no doubt shaking off their fur and sleep as I saw Ren walk in. I sucked air through my teeth as he turned the light on, walking over to me. I felt a hand on my forehead before I'd even been able to open my eyes. "Open your mouth." he said. I did it without question, unsurprised to feel the cold metal beneath my tongue a few seconds later.

When I finally opened my eyes, I saw him dressed like always, holding a thermometer in one hand, a bag set down nearby with a small, red cross symbol on the side. " _Leave it to Ren to figure out anything._ " I thought. I'd have smiled if not for the thermometer in my mouth. Speaking of, about two seconds later I heard said object beep, Ren pulling back and looking at it. I saw his eyes widen more than I'd ever typically seen them, looking down at me. "103.9… I'm calling a doctor, don't try to talk." he said, pulling the covers off of me, a move I was _very_ grateful for on account of the heat. He started dialing numbers into my scroll, his face slowly gaining a scowl to it for each number he called. Eventually he just sighed, "Forget it, I'm calling Oobleck." he said.

Sure enough, ten minutes after he called I heard the chime of the door, the man bursting in. Before he could yell Ren placed a hand over his mouth, shushing him with a finger to his lips. Oobleck nodded, raising an eyebrow towards the nearby crib with Weiss napping inside. Ren shook his head, pointing at me. "He's got a fever of 103.9, he's damn near in hyperthermia and he sounded like he could barely talk on the phone." Ren said quickly. Oobleck nodded a few times, walking into the bathroom and, without a word from either of us, bringing a glass of water over. I gave a smile in thanks as he tilted it towards me, letting me nearly drain it dry. "Thanks." At least now I _could_ talk. Oobleck looked over my body, gently moving his arms, a few grunts coming from me as he did so. Each prod brought a new spark of pain.

Oobleck nodded a few times, "Mr. Arc, what's my first name?" he asked, seemingly out of nowhere. I was about to answer when, suddenly, I felt my mind just grind to a halt, blanking. What was his first name? "Uhh… Ba… bar… starts… with a, B?" I said, taking a wild guess. The man across from him looking down, his face matching his eyes… why was he worried about me? Who was he anyway? Where did he come from? Did he just get here like the doctor did too? There was a cross on the bag in his hand… an assistant? "How many fingers am I holding up?" he said, holding up… it was ring, index… middle… what number was that again? One… two… five? No that didn't sound right, Six? Maybe… "Uhh… Number…" I trailed off… what was I saying? Why was he holding up his fingers and why did they both look like they wanted me to say something?

"Oh my Oum… Ren, wash your hands, get the child and get to the front, NOW! Set the sign to closed and keep the animals _out_! This is far more serious than I suspected!" the doctor said, talking quickly to what I guessed was his assistant. Said assistant disappeared into the bathroom before coming out and grabbing a crib of a little, white haired baby… "Weiss…" I muttered… that name. It meant something. It meant something about that little baby. Was it her name? Why did I know it? I glared towards the man holding her… something felt wrong. He shouldn't be taking her. She shouldn't be in the front. Why did I know this? What was I thinking? _Why_ was I thinking? _Who_ was I thinking? The doctor pulled out a small device, tapping a few buttons and talking into the side… those things had a name, right? What was it…

"Blake, it's Oobleck. Come to the Pet Center _immediately_ , something is VERY wrong with Mr. Arc." he said, quickly tossing it away… Oobleck, that meant something. Was… it was his name? First or last? Maybe he didn't have a first, maybe he didn't have a last… why was he here again? He leaned down, "I need you to listen _very_ carefully and answer my question. What. is. Your. Name?" he asked. I raised an eyebrow… what kind of question was that? Had we never met before? I held out my hand, as weak and feeble as it was, trying to get him to shake. When that failed I spoke, "My name's Jaune." I said simply. The man nodded a few times, reaching into a bag nearby and pulling out what looked to be a clipboard, writing something down on the front of it before looking up again. "First or last?" he asked.

I shrugged, "Uhh… both? Neither? You have two names?" I asked, unable to completely wrap my head around it? The man was Oobleck, maybe. Was that his last name? What was a last name? The name he didn't prefer? Was the first name first choice? If so why did we need two? Oobleck nodded a few times, writing down more before setting down his notes, sitting on the edge of the bed. I just laid back, surprised at the pain I was feeling, surprised at the ceiling I was looking at. Where was I? What was this place? Who was _I_?

What the hell was happening to me?

…

"I got your message… this better be good Oobleck."

I said, pawing at my eyes as I stifled a yawn. I'd been in the middle of… well, _sleeping_ given it was four-thirty in the morning. I wasn't supposed to come into work for another _hour_ at least. Why was I being called in now? Why by _Oobleck_ of all people. I walked past Ren and Weiss… suddenly I was a bit more aware. Something was off. Jaune wouldn't leave Weiss alone with anyone for too long (that I knew of anyway), why suddenly give her to Ren? Scratch that, why suddenly have her out in the _open_? I walked in the back, raising an eyebrow as I saw an underwear-clad Jaune, his head lolled over to the side, his face a bright red color. Oobleck walked over, "Blake, I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you _have_ to answer them truthfully, understand? Mr. Arc's life depends on it." he said.

If I wasn't awake before, I sure as hell was _now_.

"I know you have questions, but answer mine first. Have you and Mr. Arc engaged in _any_ kind of genetic transfer whatsoever?" he asked. I raised an eyebrow… what the heck was a 'genetic transfer'? Did he mean giving blood to him? Did he mean… oh wait. I felt my face burn slightly as I nodded, "Sort of. He accidentally kissed me yesterday but, it wasn't long enough for a transfer. Just a split second." I said. Oobleck shook his head, clicking his tongue as he rummaged through his bag, pulling out his scroll and other tools. He handed me his clipboard. I read through it (as best I could anyway, the guys penmanship was _awful_ ). " _Borderline Hyperthermia (103.9 degrees Fahrenheit), Delirium, short term memory loss, physical weakness… is that… it is._ " I thought, my eyes widening more and more as I realized just what I'd done. Or rather, what Jaune had done to _himself_.

"He caught F1H0, didn't he?"

Oobleck shook his head, "No. F1H0 went extinct with the Great Cleansing of the faunus. If I had to suspect, Mr. Arc's patient zero to a new strain, an evolved strain. He must've had some kind of skin-on-skin contact with an infected faunus to receive it. Though, as far as _I'm_ aware you've been completely immunized against it, thus preventing the virus from having time to mutate in your internal organs. Are there any other faunus he's come into _direct_ contact with?" he asked. As strange as it felt being so open about my faunus nature in front of Jaune, I also had to remember that with his short-term memory loss he likely wouldn't remember a thing. "I don't know… but I think I know someone who might." I said. At that I dashed out the door, whistling.

"Pyrrha! Yang! Here girls!" I said. The two sat up, nearly knocking me down to get inside as I shut the door. Ren was a little too preoccupied with the just now stirring Weiss to care (thankfully) and simply grabbed a nearby bottle of formula Jaune had apparently fixed before he got sick… at some point. How old was that bottle? Either way, I didn't have much time to think about it before I shut the door, turning to the two faunus. "Girl's, Oobleck's part of the Grimm, it's okay. Turn human, we need information. Jaune won't remember." I said quickly, trying to coax the two into it. I knew it would be odd for them to change in front of Jaune… then again, they _technically_ did the same thing all the time, just not when he was _somewhat_ conscious. The two nodded, moving around and shifting back into their human-like states, both with burning faces as they gazed towards Oobleck and Jaune nervously.

"Have either of you two had direct skin contact with Mr. Arc in these human forms of yours?" he asked. The two of them looked at one another, both shaking their heads. It wasn't them, I should have figured that much. They probably had plenty of contact with each _other_ , but Jaune? No. That just left… "Is there _any_ faunus that has had large amounts of _direct_ contact with Mr. Arc in their _human_ form?" he asked again. Me, Pyrrha, and Yang all looked at one another. It seemed to click in their heads, their eyes widening as they gazed at one another. They knew. "Well… for the past few months, Ruby's been sleeping next to him in her human form. Does that count?" Yang asked.

Oobleck's face suddenly resembled Weiss's hair as he nodded, hands trembling a bit. "Unfortunately yes. This is _very, VERY_ bad. Jaune is infected with an as-of-yet unknown strain of a F1H0! He must be quarantined _immediately_! No humans are to get even _close_ to him other than possibly myself!" he said. Pyrrha and Yang looked at each other, their eyes no doubt mirroring their confusion. I understood the reasons of course, I knew the old stories of what the disease did to humans. I mean, we were _looking_ at an example in Jaune, and that was just the _first_ stages! "What exactly _is_ F1H0?" Pyrrha asked. I had a feeling she'd ask that. No one had really discussed the deadliest disease of all time in awhile, given it supposedly went extinct with the faunus. Of course, the three of us were living proof that wasn't the case. "It's a highly contagious viral infection that spreads primarily through skin contact. It's actually likely in all of your stomachs as we speak!" he said.

The two raised an eyebrow, and Oobleck happily explained. "The virus has different effects on faunus physiology than human, on account of the faunus cells slightly altered DNA to account for the animal features. In faunus it aids digestion as well as strengthens the immune system, so their bodies serve as virtual breeding grounds for it. In _humans_ however," he gestured back to Jaune, "the infection causes rapid hyperthermia and begins attacking the nervous system, causing delirium, short term memory, and in most cases, _death_! This new strain likely has similar symptoms, but it's difficult to say for certain until they manifest." he explained. Both of the girls faces paled, gazing down at Jaune with worried eyes. To think it'd just been a cough yesterday, suddenly a deadly infection today.

"Why now!? Ruby's been sleeping with him for _months_! Why didn't he get sick sooner?" Yang asked, her voice striking the air as hot whips of panic. Pyrrha was just as panicked and wild, but her fear was contained to her body, her tail swishing and her hands wringing themselves over and over again, petting her hair. Oobleck shook his head, "I'm not certain. It's possible a sudden change in conditions may have lead to a rapid mutation by the virus in Ruby's body. Has Weiss's semblance been revealed yet?" he asked, mostly directing his attention at me. Yang and Pyrrha shook their heads immediately, but Oobleck didn't bother to dignify them with a response. They wouldn't know what they were looking for.

"No. No sudden changes in the fabric of reality, no changes in anything she's holding, and most of all, no _glyphs_. If someone's semblance activated, it wasn't hers." I explained. Oobleck nodded a few times, pacing about in front of them, maintaining a clear distance from Jaune as he did so. I could understand why, if _Oobleck_ got infected, there'd be no one keeping the disease private, and that would cause a _lot_ of problems. "Hmm… any physical changes in her?" he asked. I shook my head… but Yang and Pyrrha didn't move, suddenly frozen in face, passing worried glances to each other.

It was Yang who spoke first, "Ruby went into her first heat just last week… could that have had something to do with it?" she asked. Oobleck nodded, reaching for his clipboard and nearly slamming his pen onto the paper, short-handing notes in a way such that I was sure only he could make out what they were saying. "Of course! The hormonal imbalance in her body and brain would've resulted in a mild schizophrenic effect, as well as increasing her own sexual desires for the object of her affections. The virus would of course then need to adapt to these changes, but only if it occurred at an _incredibly_ rapid pace… was there something that seemed to suddenly set it off?" he asked. Pyrrha and Yang nodded, their faces somber. Oobleck nodded a few times as well, mimicking their expressions.

"As I feared… Mr. Arc's inability to move will soon be the _least_ of his worries if his own immune system isn't strong enough. I'll get to work on an antidote as soon as I can, but with only myself and the other Beacon doctors working on it, it may be too late… wait a moment, where's Ruby? A direct link to the infection would _surely_ be useful in developing a cure, or at least a vaccine if a cure proves impossible." he said. Pyrrha and Yang both paled, each grabbing the others hands, squeezing tight as if to keep themselves calm. They knew where Ruby was, didn't they? I looked at Yang only once… that was enough apparently. "Kindred Hearts Orphanage. The girls there took her in." she said.

"You can… find a cure for Jaune with Ruby's help, right?" Pyrrha asked, her voice betraying her worry, her compassion, her fear. All laid as bare and naked as she was. Oobleck shrugged, "Unfortunately I have no idea how long Mr. Arc's immune system will last against this adapted strain. With his body type and, with no cure… It's always bad to be the bearer of bad news but, I wouldn't give him more than a week." he said, his face unusually sympathetic. The doctor had seen _plenty_ of death in his day, so it was unlikely this phased him as much as he let on. Pyrrha's face paled, a shiver running down her spine. "What can we do to help him!? There has to _something_!" Oobleck looked and sounded suddenly more somber than usual.

"Help me get Ruby… then hope for the best."


End file.
